A New Dawn
by Melonss x
Summary: Sorta Twilight prequel . Bella's mom is killed by vampires . She moves to forks, and meets the Cullens .. but are they the only vampires in town? suckish summaryy , Bella a little OOC .
1. Preface

A New Dawn

Preface

The image was burned into my mind. I tried and I tried, desperately thinking of all the happy memories in my life. But there it still was; possibly the picture that I most never wanted to see in my life, stuck in my brain, behind my eyelids everytime I had to blink, torturing me endlessly. I didn't even bother trying to sleep anymore. Unconsciousness just wasn't appealing, did nothing to dull the overwhelming agony that filled my body and mind. I'd soon awake after a few minutes anyway, screaming into my pillow.

_Help. Please, just someone help me, _I thought, not having enough energy to speak the words aloud anymore. But it was hopeless. All the faith I'd had in God ever existing had disappeared, the moment it had happened, anyway. The moment all the things I cared for had been destroyed.


	2. Chapter 1: The End

**AN; hey, I hope you liked the preface, scary, right? Kidding. Looking back, it actually kind of sucked. But w/e. anyway, moving on.. ****Okay, so in the next couple of chapters, I don't want to give anything away, but I have to come to a decision whether to make Bella a vampire before she meets the Cullens (what? It was bound to happen ********) or whether she should be human. At the moment, I'm leaning toward her being human. But what would you prefer? There's a poll on my profile, or you can just tell me in a review. Thanks, and, lastly, (I don't want to make this too long, because personally, long AN's annoy me) please don't be put off by my fairly suckish preface. I will try very hard to write this next chapter well, and for it to be a good length ********. I may update more than once today, because I'm bored, and freakishly excited because it's my first fanfic, but otherwise, I hope to update at the very least twice a week. But it does depend on how busy I am (usually, not very [;). Sound fair ? Aaaah, sorry, this has turned out quite long, so, okay, on with the chapter! Here we go…**

Chapter 1; The end 

Wuthering heights. I'd always loved the book. Okay, so I love a lot of books, but particularly this one. As you can tell, I'm not particularly you're average American party-girl teenager. In fact, I hate to sound completely socially retarded, but I don't really ever go out with friends. I don't even HAVE friends really. Well, not good ones anyway. My mom is my best friend.

So you can see why, on this normal, summer day in my hometown, Phoenix, I wasn't out partying it up with my girlfriends and boyfriend (please, the closest I ever got to one of them was in fifth grade), I was laying on my bed, reading, completely oblivious to anything happening around me. My mom teased me for it, saying that the whole town could be slaughtered, and I wouldn't know it, because I'd be too involved in whatever story I happened to be reading about that day; imagining myself, not simply sitting in my dull, stuffy bedroom, the blistering sun beating down through my window (I would have sat outside, but it was just one of those days that the sun happened to be so damn, blisteringly hot, that it wasn't possible unless you wanted to, quite literally, fry the second you step out onto your doorstep), listening to the distant tinkling of an ice – cream truck down the road, followed by the delightful yells of the younger kids living on my block but instead, inside the pages of my book. And yet, I never realised - well, I don't think she did either - how true that once teasing statement, may turn out to be.

It was just past half four in the afternoon, when it happened. My whole life was ripped to shreds before my very eyes.

I could hear my mom – the one of us who didn't mind being completely fried as she actually got a tan at the end of it, and so did so at a regular basis – giggling about something that Phil, her fiancé, had said, as she lay in maximum sun exposure, on the green and white striped deck chair, positioned in the middle of our yellowy – brown excuse for a lawn. That was one of the other reasons that I'd chosen to stay in my bedroom that day; so that she and Phil could have some alone time, something they didn't get too often, what with me hanging around all the time.

She was perfectly happy with Phil, I was glad of that fact. But I knew that once they were married, then they'd be traveling, and I couldn't toe along after them. Phil was a baseball player; not a very good one, but he did move around a lot.

Don't get me wrong, I liked Phil. He was, maybe, a little young, but I trusted him to look after Mom. He was a good guy. And I didn't want to spoil my mom's happiness. She'd never admit it, but I know that she loves Phil so much, that she wouldn't mind really that I'm not there. She'd probably enjoy the alone time, and she deserves that. In all of the nearly seventeen years that my mom and I have lived together, and after all of the boyfriends she's had (which has been quite a lot) I've never seen her so happy, so much in love, as she is with Phil.

And that's why I planned to go and live with Charlie, my dad, in Forks. Sure, I pretty much hated Forks; it was the complete opposite of my beloved Phoenix. It existed under a near – constant cover of clouds, with green squishy stuff laying on the surface of every thing. My mom had escaped with me from the small town, when I was just a few months old, but I'd had to go back there for a month every summer until I was fourteen, when I had finally put my foot down. Instead, me and Charlie vacationed in California for a few weeks. I hadn't mentioned last time we did that, that I'd most probably be moving in with him in the next few months, and staying there up until I graduated. I guess I was still in denial about the whole thing.

Little did I know, I would be moving in with Charlie a lot sooner, and for a whole other reason, than I'd ever thought.

So, as I said, I was sprawled on my bed, book in hand, totally focused on the words on the pages in front of me. I was faintly aware of my mom, dragging the deck chair back to its position at the side of the house, and Phil helping her fold it up. I even, somewhere in the back of my mind, registered the fact that the ice cream tuck down the street had stopped tinkling, which was odd, because it usually continued until at least 5. But I was too absorbed in my book, to think anything of it. So I continued, still happy, in my own little world.

A little while later, I heard some commotion in the house opposite. Again, I didn't think much of it. _Just the Johnsons' having another row,_ I told myself silently.

But, a few minutes later, I heard the front door creak open again. _That's odd, I thought Mom had come in a few minutes ago,_ I thought, beginning to become a little suspicious. Just then I heard Phil shout "Hello? Who's there?", and to my Mom, "Did you leave the door open?"

So I'd been right, they were inside. Who was this mysterious visitor then? _Probably nothing to worry about, just a neighbour, dropping in to say hi, inviting us over for a barbeque. Everything's fine._ I tried to assure myself. But I couldn't help the feeling of terror that had slowly crept over me.

"Who are you?" I heard Phil demand, and the terror grew. I heard the floorboards squeak as he stood up, probably trying to hide my mom from view, and to get whoever had come in to back off.

"Oh, that doesn't matter now." The person purred, in a deep, seductive voice, that was layered with malice. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and I shivered involuntarily. "You'll soon be in a better place, none the wiser of this very encounter."

"What are you talking about?" Phil demanded. "Get out of our house!"

I hoped the man didn't have a gun or something with him, but I figured even Phil wouldn't be stupid enough to speak to a guy with a gun like that. _Please let him be smaller than Phil. Please. _I thought, desperately. Phil was a pretty well – built guy, he could probably take a guy down if he was on his own… and I didn't hear any other voices.

"Huh," the man scoffed, "People these days, so rude…"

"I said ge-" but Phil didn't finish his sentence, because he was soon interrupted. I can only hope that it didn't hurt too much. That he was knocked unconscious before he felt any pain. My mom, on the other hand, I don't think I can say the same for her, which makes it even worse.

Phil was interrupted by a loud thud – his head hitting the floor – and then soon after, my mom's bloodcurdling scream. At that point, I just thought the stranger had simply killed Phil, or, though I knew it was very unlikely, just knocked him out. Still, I was off my bed and down the stairs faster than I thought possible. I was surprised I didn't trip actually, seeing as how I'm usually unable to walk across a flat, stable surface without gaining some kind of injury; I guess it was due to the circumstances, due to the fact that my soon – to – be – stepdad had just been murdered in the living room of my house.

Anyway, I somehow managed to get into the living room, less than a few seconds later, only, I wish I hadn't. Because the sight before my eyes was possibly the most horrifying thing I'd ever witnessed. Phil lay on the floor, absoloutely motionless, his whole body paler than I'd ever seen anyone in my life, his neck bent at an unnatural angle, looking as if he'd had all the blood drained from his body. My mom, her screams just whimpers of "No, please no, phil, bella…", was cowering in the corner, tears streaming down her face, her eyes flickering between the man, who I now saw was tall and muscular, with dark hair and an evil sneer on his face, me, and her now – dead – husband – to – be.

"Don't be afraid," the murderer murmured "It won't hurt that much…"

"Please, please don't …" she said, her voice barely a whisper now, then, to me "Run, Bella, get out of here…" and as she said those words, the last words I'd ever hear her say, the killer crouched, and leapt onto her.

"MOM !" I screamed, but it was too late, I heard the sickening crunch as he snapped her neck, and then, to my horror, put his teeth to the neck he'd just broken, and bit down.

I wanted to run. I wanted to run, as fast as I could and as far away from Phoenix as possible. But my whole body was paralysed. I couldn't even turn my head away, I had to stand there and do nothing but watch, as my mother, my beloved, erratic, harebrained mother, was slowly devoured, by a monster.

_Please let this be a nightmare, please let me wake up, and everything to be fine._ But even as I thought it, I knew it wouldn't happen. After a few seconds of sickening sucking, the monster dropped my mother on the floor, where with a gentle thud, she lay, as motionless and pale as Phil, and he turned to look at me.

My attention was immediately brought to his eyes. They were a deep, terrifying shade of scarlet, and they only made my breath, which was coming in short, sharp, bursts, speed up even faster. His clothes were slightly crumpled, and his feet were bare. But what bothered me most, other than the eyes, was the fact that he was deathly pale, as pale, in fact, as the two dead people lying at his feet.

"Hello there…" He smiled evilly at me, red eyes glinting, "You're a pretty one, aren't you," he continued to smile and took a big, whiff of the air. "Oh, and you smell _divine…" _He slowly bent down into the same crouch I had seen him use just before he'd … he'd _murdered_ my mother.

All of a sudden, anger boiled up inside of me, as well as a new dose of fear. He'd _killed _MY mother. He'd taken away the person I loved most in the world, and the person she loved. He'd ripped my whole world to shreds in a matter of seconds. Looking back, I maybe wish that he'd killed me too, that way, I wouldn't have to feel so much pain; but I wasn't able to think straight back then, when I'd just seen my mom and stepdad slaughtered right in front of me – along with the whole town, I realised. So, I wasn't going down without a fight.

"Stay away from me. You're a sick excuse for a human being, you murderer." I spat, glad that my voice hadn't broken. I didn't want him to know that I was terrified to my very core. Okay, I guess that wasn't the best tactic, insulting a person that was about to kill you, but hey, it was all I had.

Much to my disappointment though, he just chuckled, sending a shiver down my spine and causing me to tremble even harder than I had been before.

"Oh, I'm definitely not human, sweetheart…"

**Aaah! Sorry to leave you hanging ******** please let me know about the whole human or vampire thing, and I'll be sure to update ASAP.**

**Thanks for reading ******

**Love Ellen**

**x x x x x x**


	3. Chapter 2: Saved

**AN; Aaaahh ! Thank youu miss Windows of the World :D Youu are my first ( and probably last ) reviewer ******** as you can tell, this excites me alott .. but yeaa thank youu and I'm so glad youu liked it ! it made my day [: and also thanks for voting about thee human / vampire bella thingy .. I will go with human seeing as I don't think I'm going to be getting anymore votes anytime soon … but don't worry ! I have a plan of how to make her still human .. :D okay , so , keep reading ! pleeeaase (:**

**Disclaimer ; Sadly, I don't own Twilight … however I would like to own Edward some day ;)**

**Okay , let's go;**

Recap

_He slowly bent down into the same crouch I had seen him use just before he'd … he'd __**murdered**__ my mother._

"_Stay away from me. You're a sick excuse for a human being, you murderer."_

_Okay, I guess that wasn't the best tactic, insulting a person that was about to kill you, but hey, it was all I had._

"_Oh, I'm definitely not human, sweetheart…"_

Chapter 2; Saved

I didn't even bother trying to make sense of what he'd just said. At that moment, my mind was only focused on one thing, and one thing only; the fact that I was going to die in a matter of seconds.

I half expected my whole life to flash before my eyes, like they say it does in the movies and all – it didn't. Instead I used all my energy, trying to bring up a picture of my Mom, smiling and happy, in my mind. _I love you mom, always have, always will. I'm sorry. _I thought, then I placed Phil in the picture next to her. _Phil, you tried your best, and you made my mom so happy. Thank you, and I love you. _Finally, I pictured Charlie, waving goodbye in the airport, the last time I'd seen him… the last time I'd ever see him. _I'm sorry Charlie. I'm sorry for not visiting you more often; I'm sorry for not wanting to visit more often; I'm sorry for never getting to come and live with you; heck, I'm sorry for abandoning you, when I was just a few months old. I'm just sorry… and I love you, Dad._

I'd said my silent goodbyes. I was ready. And I was terrified. I've always been a bit of a coward when it comes to pain, so I hope it didn't hurt too much. Bracing myself, I took my final breath…

The monster's smile grew wider, seeming to enjoy my terror. He started to spring...

"Michael!" a voice called out. The monster straightened up immediately. "Michael," the voice said again. It was a womans' voice, and no sooner had she called his name that last time, did she appear right by his side.

"They're coming Michael, I can smell them…" she murmured, almost too low for me to hear. My mind didn't process the words as much as maybe it should have, but the woman distracted me, she was … well, breathtaking.

Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not… I mean that's not the reason I've never had a boyfriend. But, and I hate to say this as she was obviously a killer too, she was beautiful.

Her skin was the same paler than pale shade as this 'Michael's, and her eyes were the same terrifying, scarlet red. But she had the face of an angel. Her short, black hair didn't quite reach her shoulders, and her petite body was clothed in a dress that looked like it would have had to be peeled off at night.

"Maria… but I've only had a couple, and this one will only take a second," I tried to suppress a shudder, but failed, at his casual mention of killing me and my family.

"No Michael. Now. If they find us, they kill us. They'll kill her for us anyway. You can continue your hunt elsewhere. It's too late for the newborns, but we can still make it." She spoke sharply, her musical voice layered with authority and annoyance.

The other seemed to be less convinced, but he was clearly torn; obey the tiny, but quite scary, demon in front of him, or kill the terrified girl cowering before him. After a couple of seconds of glancing backwards and forwards between me and 'Maria', and what looked like more prodding by 'Maria', though I couldn't be sure for she said it so quietly and quickly I could barely see her lips move, he finally decided. With one last glance of longing at me, he turned and ran out the door quicker than I would have thought possible. Maria followed soon after.

It took me a few seconds to respond to this. And even after that, my mind seemed to have a lot of trouble processing anything. All I knew was that I had to get out of here, and fast. I couldn't think why, at least not until I'd run straight back up to my bedroom. Then I remembered something the female monster had said… _"They're coming Michael…"_

They. I didn't know who _they _was, but I had a feeling they weren't much nicer than the monsters who had been in my living room only moments before.

The police? No. Something tells me it would take a little more than the police to scare a man that had seemed to snap two peoples' necks just with one flick of his ha- but I'm not going to think of that. _Not If I don't want to lose it completely right now,_ I thought.

I decided it didn't matter at that moment anyway. I just needed to hide, unless I wanted to end up like… right, I needed to hide. There wasn't enough time to run.

Still shaking all over, I walked slowly over to my wardrobe. I know, kind of stupid, when trying to hide from possible murderers, but it was all I could do at the time not to run screaming from the house, so I figured I'd better go with anywhere that was closest.

I stepped inside the tiny space, and shut the door behind me. Pushing through a couple of old dresses and coats, I put my back to the wall and slid down to a sitting position.

I tried to hold in the tears, I really did. But I was fighting a losing battle. Eventually, I just let go, and let the sobs shake through my body as I realised that if I lived through this, I was all alone anyway. Suddenly, I didn't care whether I lived or died. My life was bound to be miserable anyway. Why bother living it?

Slowly, the tears still streaming down my face, I pushed on the door and listened…

Nothing. Just, silence.

Quietly as possible I slid onto the floor and pushed up so that I was standing again. Shakily, I shuffled out of my room, clutching my hand over my mouth so as not to let my sobs be heard. When I got to the top of the stairs though, I froze.

There was someone there. Standing at the bottom of the stairs. They were wearing a long, grey cloak and slung over each shoulder they had a body. Not just any body to be precise, but the bodies of Phil, and my mom.

I couldn't help the heartbroken cry that escaped my mouth at that point, but the person – well, I'm almost certain now that whoever it was was much more, and worse, than a person – just glanced back at me, a look of pity on his face. Then, in the time it took for me to let out another shaky breath, he was gone.

***

I don't know how long I lay there, face covered with dried tears, having run out of moisture in my eyes, and run out of energy to cry. I didn't care. All I could see was my mom sobbing in the corner, Phil dead on the floor, and the monster, an evil sneer on his face. It was like an ongoing slideshow in my brain, forever stuck on a loop. Mom. Phil. Monster.

It was as this was going through my mind for what seemed like the millionth time, that I heard it.

Sirens.

Then I only had one thought. Get out of here.

I sprung up from my bed, with a surprising amount of energy for someone who couldn't have slept for more than 24 hours.

I ran to the wardrobe that I'd hidden in what seemed like years ago, but was probably only hours, and pulled out an old duffel bag. Not caring what I was going to be wearing in the next few days, I threw open the closest drawers I could get my hands on, and started tossing things in the bag. I ran to the bathroom and grabbed any basic toiletries I could find before running back and adding them to the random pile of clothes. Lastly, I sprinted downstairs, not pausing to think about the last time I'd been down there, and ran for the stash of money that mom kept in a box under the couch.

Dropping down on my stomach, I grabbed for the box and took it all. _It's not like they'll need it now,_ I thought causing a few more tears to squeeze out of my eyes.

As I scrubbed them away with the back of my hand, I spun around, heading for the stairs again, only to stop, face to face with a picture of my mom, Phil and me, smiling and happy. It had been taken a few months ago, when Phil had forced us to go and watch a stupid baseball game with him.

I grabbed the picture and hurried upstairs. The sirens were getting louder. I didn't have any time to waste crying over something that couldn't be undone.

After shoving the picture, the cash, along with any other spare cash I could find around my room and my passport in the bag, I slung it over my shoulder and headed downstairs and out the door… into dead man's land.

The whole street was deserted, completely silent except for the wailing sirens coming closer and closer. Half the front doors were open, and a few windows smashed. With a shudder, I realized that I was the only left survivor of the disgusting slaughter of my whole street.

Again, I pushed the thought away. _Grieve later_, I thought. Now, I just need to get out of there.

So, I ran. Tripping was inevitable for me, so I did stumble a few times, but I picked myself back up, and carried on, ignoring the aches in my legs and strain in my chest.

I don't know where I ran; I just made sure it was in the opposite direction of the sirens.

It had been dawn when I'd started running. A new dawn, as if nothing had ever happened. I suppose I'd half expected the world to stop, and not carry on as it usually did. But I guess it was just my world that had stopped completely.

The sun was nearing the middle of the sky when I finally stopped running. I'd made it back to some civilization, and I needed a ride.

Sweat pouring down my face, I slowed down and just sat on the sidewalk. Every time a cab drove past, I jumped up and ran towards it, getting a lot of honks and angry shouts from other vehicles on the road, but I didn't care. It took a few tries to get one to actually stop though. And when it did, the driver looked rather anxious and concerned when I flung the door open and jumped in as fast as I could. I guess I didn't look too great, but at that moment, I couldn't care less.

"To the airport, please. As fast. As you can." I said, between gasps of breath.

"Honey, are you alr-" the driver started but I interrupted him, thrusting a few notes from the stash in my bag, in his face.

"Please. Just drive." Maybe, he just really wanted the money, and didn't care how he got it, or maybe I just looked scary enough to get him to shut up, I don't know. But either way, he took one last look at me, before taking the money with a sigh, and sped away.

It was a long journey. It had given me time to reflect my thoughts, unfortunately, and that made me remember why I was here. I tried to concentrate on the cars, the trees, the sun beating through the windshield, seeing as I probably wouldn't be seeing it for a while, but I couldn't. Instead my thoughts led me on a more painful path. The slideshow had started again.

I decided that it was inevitable, and so I gave into my thoughts, but instead of seeing my mom being killed, I focused on the murderer.

"_Oh, I'm de__finitely not human, sweetheart…"_ his menacing voice sounded in my head again. Not human. Another picture flashed through my mind, a picture of him, his head bent over my mom's neck.

There was only one word that came to my mind when I thought of that. There had to be about a hundred horror movies and books based on them. _Vampire._

I know. Stupid, right? Next thing I'd be saying Frankenstein came running past my window. But the fact was, there was nothing fake about what the horror that I'd just experienced. And I was almost 100 percent sure that, the monster that had killed my mom, along with her husband Phil, had… it had _sucked her blood._

"Here we are sweetheart. Oh, are you okay?" the cab driver broke through my reverie.

With a start I realised we'd arrived at the airport, and, to my horror, I'd started blubbing again.

I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand and swung open the door.

"Thanks." I mumbled, then jumped out and hurried into the airport.

***

"Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, the flight to Seattle, Washington, will commence in just a few minutes. It will be approximately four hours and then, for those of you who are taking the next flight, to Port Angeles, it will take another hour. If you have any problems, please don't hesitate to let any of the hostess' know, and they'll do their best to make this flight as comfortable as possible for you. We ask that you please keep your seatbelt on at all times, although you will be able to remove it if the symbol is not lit. Thank you, and enjoy the flight." the pilots' voice rung out over the quiet chatter in the cabin.

I rested my head against the window and sighed. I didn't know what would be waiting for me, if anything, in Forks. Charlie would have probably heard the news by now; I wouldn't be surprised if they told him I was dead too, seeing as how, like all the bodies, I'd bet, I'd disappeared without a trace. Oh well, he'd be getting a bit of a shock when I turned up at his doorstep later today then. I just hoped he took me in. It's not like I had anywhere else to go.

I let out another gentle sigh. _Forks, here I come._

**What do you think? I think it was pretty suckish again. It was just a filler really … she had to get to Forks somehow. Hopefully, the next one will be better, and more exciting ! Sorry if you hate it, please don't give up hope yet, I will try and do better (: Review ?**

**Oh, and if you haven't realised, I stuck with human bella :]**

**I'll update again asap, well, if I get more reviews anyway ;)**

**Love ellen **

**x x x x x x**


	4. Chapter 3: Paranoid

**AN; Heyy again :D first of all , I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ! to ALLL my reviewers :] , you really do make my dayy (:**

**To thee questions asked ; Yea, I think I have a little bit of a plan about the Jaspery – Maria thingy .. but I won't give anything away ! ;) and to FireKumori Mage's question, I have to say, I don't really know yet. I think that this story will be a whole other thing to happen BEFORE anything in Twilight happens, but I may take a few things from twilight, like possibly the van accident and the rapists in Port Angeles … but yea, idk about the whole storyline thing. What do you guys think? Should I do the Twilight storyline too? Or go in a whole different direction? It wouldn't be strictly accurate for James and everyone to come in like a month in my story, seeing as its set earlier than twilight, just after the summer. But they could come in later…**

**Anyway, I'll leave that up to you guys to help me decide… for now, on with the story :)**

**Disclaimer; Nopee , Stephenie Meyer hasn't agreed to let me have the Twilight series yet, not even one, measly Cullen ! But don't worry; I'll break her eventually ;) For now, the series is all hers - sobs – and Edward too! :[**

Recap

"_No Michael. Now. If they find us, they kill us. They'll kill her for us anyway. You can continue your hunt elsewhere. It's too late for the newborns, but we can still make it."_

_There was someone there. Standing at the bottom of the stairs. They were wearing a long, grey cloak and slung over each shoulder they had a body. Not just any body to be precise, but the bodies of Phil, and my mom. _

_I don't know where I ran; I just made sure it was in the opposite direction of the sirens. _

_I let out another gentle sigh. Forks, here I come._

Chapter 2; Paranoid

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," I was getting really sick of hearing that voice, having heard it repeat the same things at half an hour intervals for five hours. "I hope you enjoyed the flight. We will be landing in Port Angeles at approximately 6:15pm. Please remain seated with your seatbelt fastened until we have landed safely, and the seatbelt sign has been turned off. Once again, I hope you had a lovely flight."

I rolled my eyes. Oh yes, just lovely. Five long hours to sit and think about the fact that my mother and her fiancé had been brutally murdered less than 48 hours ago, and I had witnessed it and done nothing to stop, or help it.

Not that I think I could have helped anything, really. I mean, I'd have probably made it worse. I'm lucky I escaped with my own life – on second thoughts, seeing as how I now have to live without my mom, maybe not so lucky.

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind, not wanting to dwell on those thoughts too long.

It was about an hour later that I finally made my way out the airport doors. It being near the end of summer vacation, I guessed there was a lot of people rushing back in time for the new semester.

I quickly hailed the first cab I saw, and got much the same reaction that I'd had with the one back in Phoenix – only possibly worse, because now I had the fact that I'd been on a plane for five hours to add on.

After handing him a wad of cash, we were soon speeding our way into Forks. Great, yet more time to think about what had happened to me recently. Why didn't I bring a book or something?

I decided I'd refocus on what I'd been thinking about in the last cab. It was the less painful, but some what more confusing option.

I mean, if I'd been right, which, I'll admit, did seem pretty doubtful - come on, a VAMPIRE? This is real life, not a horror story – then I'd guess there'd be more than one of … _them. _

So did that mean they were everywhere? How do we know that, well, that guy at the store, or that girl in your class, or that woman across your street, how do we know that they aren't in fact … I gulped, _vampires?_

Okay, maybe the fact that I hadn't eaten in a while wasn't helping my common sense very much, but, hey, it could be true. Although, you'd think that people would notice those wild, crimson eyes as a little strange… just the thought of them gave me the shivers.

Oh, and there was also the fact that they were so abnormally pale. I know I'm pale and all, but compared to _them,_ heck, I was _Pocahontas. _

And there was the other thing. Okay, so they were about to kill me and all, but I couldn't help but notice they were both exceptionally beautiful. The man too, maybe even more so than the woman, if it weren't for that evil sneer on his face.

I racked my brains, trying to think of any other aspects of their appearance or personality that had struck me as strange.

It was hard, having been so terrified at the time I didn't really register much else than the fact that I was going to die.

And then it hit me. I'd even thought it before I think. The way he'd…_killed _mom and Phil. _He'd snapped their necks with a flick of his hand. _It had looked… effortless. In an eerie and horrible way, yes, but still. That was something right. Also, when they'd gone, it had seemed as though they'd just disappeared out of thin air. It was the same with the person in the grey cloak…

I mentally scanned through the list that I had seemed to create;

Red eyes

Extremely pale

Beautiful

Super strength

Super speed

Right. So I guess I just had to watch out for super fast, super strong, pale supermodels with red eyes. Easy. I mean, there couldn't be many people like that in a small town like Forks, right?

Somehow, asking Charlie that question didn't seem like a great way to ensure him of my sanity.

***

The journey seemed to take forever, and it got more and more depressing as it went on. Every time we went past a tree, which was on average probably around every hundredth of a second, it was greener than the one before. I'm not even kidding. Even parts of the road, were beginning to go a little green.

It was as I was thinking this, and about how I was going to miss Phoenix, however hard I tried to forget it, that I saw it. Or, _her, _to be more precise. I could have sworn that it was her. Even from the back she looked beautiful, I had to admit.

That short, black hair, hanging just above the shoulders of that tiny, perfect body. The tiny, perfect body that I'd last seen trying to convince her mate out of killing me.

And then, quick as a flash, she was gone again; fading out of sight, as the cab continued to whiz down the road and round a corner.

_Was it my imagination?_, I questioned myself, so astonished that I'd forgotten to panic.

But could a persons' imagination be that vivid, if said person has been awake for over 2 or maybe 3 days?

That was probably it, just hallucinating. Or maybe this whole experience has just made me more paranoid. Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, she isn't the only person in the world with short, dark hair… and abnormally pale skin …

I was still attempting to convince myself as the cab pulled up at Charlie's house; it wouldn't be too great a first impression if I broke down as soon as he saw me. Especially seeing as he's probably certain that I've perished, along with my mom.

Oh well, I hope he likes surprises…

***

I was suddenly nervous as I waited on the doorstep of the house of which I hadn't stepped foot in for 3 years – I'd decided to ring the doorbell, thinking it may cause a bit of a fright if a 'dead' person simply strolled into your house at night.

Plus, I didn't want to admit that I'd thrown away my key, long ago, thinking that it wouldn't be needed in the future. Wow, how wrong I'd been.

Any of the nervousness I'd managed to calm a few moments ago came rushing back as I watched the front door swing open and Charlie's face go through a fair few number of emotions as he stared at the person waiting for him.

"Surprise…?" I tried, weakly, to sound up beat and joyful, but failed horribly, making it sound like a question.

Shock was prominent on his face as he continued to stare open mouthed at me. I looked for horror – hey, _my_ first reaction would have been that I was a ghost. I told you, I am very pale – but found only… relief? Mixed with grief, and sadness, I guessed for Renee.

"Oh, Bells. I thought… they told me…" He mumbled, apparently having trouble forming sentences. I wasn't surprised; I don't think I would have been able to speak if I'd wanted to either. So, we just settled for a gentle hug, which went on longer than I'd ever thought Charlie to be capable of.

The truth was, after everything, it was quite nice just to be held. And I realized, with a slight pain in my stomach, that it was all I was going to get from now on, Charlie being the only person I had left.

It was as I thought this, that the inevitable tears came, and Charlie, probably not wanting me to stain his shirt, pulled me inside, mumbling something about 'not wanting me to catch a cold'.

He took my bag and set it down in the hall, before proceeding to lead me into the living room and onto the couch. The plasma screen was switched to a baseball game – nothing's changed there then – and there was an almost empty beer can on the table in front. I didn't think I'd be joining in with the baseball watching personally, if I was going to live here, but I'd probably be cooking the dinner from now on, looking at the empty pizza box lying next to the beer can.

Charlie came back a few minutes later, armed with a box of tissues and a cup of tea.

"I- I'm sorry about ... or did they …?" Again, he didn't seem able to finish, or start, really, a sentence, so I helped him out a bit.

"It's okay, I'm … coping. And no, they didn't get that wrong. Mom and Phil are… they're dead." I stated, my voice only breaking a little at the end. I sipped at my tea a little. Whoa, the man may not be able to cook, but he sure could make a mean cup of tea.

It was silent for a few moments. Not really an awkward silence, more, a grieving silence; I think we were both thinking of Renee.

"I'm sorry." Charlie said again.

"It's okay," I repeated, trying to bring a lighter mood to the atmosphere, but failing with the tone of my voice "I'm just a little homeless at the moment," I continued with an attempt at a smile, again, I think I failed "I didn't mean to just barge in but –"

"Don't worry about it Bells, you know you're always welcome here." Charlie interrupted, with a shaky smile of his own.

"Thanks," I mumbled, neither of us was that good at showing emotion, so this was practically the most emotional conversation we'd had in … well, ever. "I guess I'd better go get unpacked then…" I said, beginning to feel a little uncomfortable under his pitying, but searching gaze. He was probably wondering why I wasn't weeping buckets; the truth was, I was trying to hold that back, at least until tonight. I was pretty sure I _would_ be weeping buckets then.

"Right. I'm sure you remember where your room is, and the bathroom." He said, standing up, as if ready to lead me there.

"It hasn't been _that_ long Dad," I replied, shuffling into the hall and towards the stairs; I held onto the tissues… I expected I'd be needing them later if what had happened at the door had been anything to go by.

"Sure seems that way…" I thought I heard him mumble as I trudged slowly up the stairs.

***

Flopping down on the bed after unpacking as much as I could manage,

(which wasn't too hard, seeing as how I'd only packed about 10 items of clothing in my haste to get away) I let out a long sigh. _Welcome to your new home,_ I thought, as I stared up at the ceiling of my 'new' room.

A few more tears started to leak out of my eyes, and I grabbed for my box of tissues.

It was going to be a long night.

**What do you think? I think maybe it was a little better written than my last one, but again, not much happened… except for the little cliffy about who Bella saw in the cab… hmmm? ;) I was going to have Bella starting at school in this one, but it would have gotten a little too long. Plus, I figured this was an okay place to leave it.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think (: I hope to update again in the next couple of days, but it depends on how much homework I've got. And my teachers are nagging at me to start revising for these tests we have coming up, but they're not that important, so I'm not **_**really**_** planning on doing that … anyway, we'll see how it goes :]**

**Hope you liked (:**

**Love Ellen**

**x x x x**


	5. Chapter 4: Deja Vu

**AN; Heyy duuudes.**** Sorry I haven't written in a few days, I had a shed load of homework on Thursday, which was when I planned to start writing this, so it's a bit later. I don't think I'll get this out till Saturday… (it's Friday now) sorry again. **

**So, I guess the last chapter was pretty suckish, seeing as I only got 1 review for itt , but ****thank youu to my one reviewer , FireKumori Mage (: youu made me happy :] and thanks for your opinion on thee whole twilight storyline thingg, dearly noted :]**

**Okay, so here we go. I think Bella may have her first glimpse of thee fabulous CULLENS (oooh, aaahh ;]) in this one. Excited? I am :DD**

**Oh, and I just thought I'd admit, that some of the descriptions in this (eg. The front office) are from Twilight and written by Stephenie Meyer. So I can't take credit for them.**

**Disclaimer; No . I don't own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, OR Breaking Dawn. Pfft, I guess wishing on a star really **_**is**_** a load of bollocks thenn. Aah well, there's always birthday wishes (:**

Recap

_Oh yes, just lovely. Five long hours to sit and think about the fact that my mother and her fiancé had been brutally murdered less than 48 hours ago, and I had witnessed it and done nothing to stop, or help it._

_I guess I just had to watch out for super fast, super strong, pale supermodels with red eyes. Easy. I mean, there couldn't be many people like that in a small town like Forks, right?_

_It was as I was thinking this, and about how I was going to miss Phoenix, however hard I tried to forget it, that I saw it. Or, her, to be more precise. _

_But could a persons' imagination be that vivid, if said person has been awake for over 2 or maybe 3 days?_

_That was probably it, just hallucinating. Or maybe this whole experience has just made me more paranoid. Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, she isn't the only person in the world with short, dark hair… and abnormally pale skin …_

_A few more tears started to leak out of my eyes, and I grabbed for my box of tissues. _

_It was going to be a long night._

Chapter 4; Déjà vu

_Phil lay on the floor, __absolutely motionless, his whole body paler than I'd ever seen anyone in my life, his neck bent at an unnatural angle, looking as if he'd had all the blood drained from his body. My mom, her screams just whimpers of "No, please no, phil, bella…", was cowering in the corner, tears streaming down her face, her eyes flickering between the man and me. _

_The man turned around to stare at me with blood red eyes; eyes that were filled with evil and hunger._

"_Hello Bella…" _

I woke with a start, screaming into my pillow. Well, at least that muffled it a little. Unfortunately, having night terrors didn't only mean that I had to suffer from sleep deprivation, Charlie did too. I bet he wishes he'd shut the door in my face the moment he saw me standing on his doorstep.

With a glance at the clock, I saw that it was only 2:00 am – I couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour since I'd last woken from that same, horrible nightmare.

It was the same every night. I was pretty sure that I'd collapse any day now from utter exhaustion. About six hours sleep in four days isn't that great a life style to follow.

But, the embarrassing truth was that I was scared to drift into unconsciousness. Scared of seeing him again, or scared of him coming here, I wasn't sure – most likely, both – but I was definitely scared.

And that was why, instead of simply lying my head back down on the pillow, pulling the covers up around me, and closing my eyes, I was sitting up in bed, reaching for the first book my hand could find. Anything was better than allowing my thoughts to stray to painful memories like –

Right. Book. Read.

I glanced down at the cover of the book that I'd grabbed from the desk beside my bed. Oh, typical. Even this reminded me of _it_.

_Wuthering heights, _the words screamed up at me, sending me back to the last night I'd been reading this… _Oh, I'm definitely not human, sweetheart…_

No, no, no. Shaking my head back and forth, I tried to clear my mind of the pictures that were flashing through it. But it was too late, tears were already spurting from my eyes that I'd squeezed tightly shut in hope of avoiding this consequence, and landing on my duvet all around me.

Personally, I was surprised there was any moisture left in my eyes after all the times this had happened to me in the last few days. Charlie, bless him, had kept up a constant stream of tissues, seeming to know that they'd be needed. That was another thing I'd realized on coming here; we were a lot more alike than I'd thought.

Well, either that or he just knew me really, really well. And could read my mind. But somehow, I doubt that last one.

With a shaking hand, I attempted to stem the tears that were now flowing freely and rapidly down my face and making my whole bed rather damp.

_Pull yourself together Bella. Come on, you can do this._ Even as I thought the words, I knew I was lying to myself though.

Today was the first day of September. It was also three days until I started my junior year at Forks High School; a school with a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty seven students. There were seven hundred people in my year alone back home. I could tell this new way of life was going to take a lot of getting used to.

***

The last three days of freedom passed much the same as the few days before it had.

I got up, after having an extremely minimum amount of sleep, shoveled in a bowl of cereal, showered, got dressed, and spent the day mostly just sitting in my room, reading, or watching TV on the flat screen downstairs. I was completely, and utterly, zombified.

Seriously; I'm a little surprised Charlie didn't call for help. Then again, who would he call? A therapist? Sure, they'd just say it's 'my way of coping with the recent losses' (which I guess it was, although I did a lot of reading before I suffered my 'losses' anyway, so that one's not really anything new) and probably give me some kind of sleeping pills to knock me out for a few hours. Actually, on second thoughts, if I don't want to never sleep for a whole night again in my life, I could do with some of them.

Anyway, I didn't need my alarm clock to buzz crazily at seven in the morning – which it did anyway, much to my joy – to wake me up. I was sitting up in bed, trying _not_ to sleep anyway. So I simply sighed, pushed away the covers and trudged out of my room, down the hall and towards the shower.

The warm water felt relaxing on my back and shoulders that were tight with stress about the day to come. I wished I could stay in the shower all day, but I figured that Charlie may be forced to call therapy if that was to happen, so I got out and pulled on my clothes.

Thanks to my packing expertise in Phoenix, there wasn't really that much of a choice. I'd managed to pack one pair of jeans, two pairs of shorts – great move Bella. Like I'd really be needing them anytime soon in the rainiest place in America – four t-shirts (again, nice one), a couple of long sleeved tops and a jumper.

I pulled on the jeans, a t-shirt and the jumper, making a mental note to maybe make a little shopping trip as soon as I had the chance… and as soon as I found out if there were any shops near this stupid town.

After quickly blowing my hair dry, grabbing my bag and jacket, murmuring a small "hello" to Charlie and grabbing a snack bar for breakfast, I soon found myself face to face with a red, faded Chevy parked on the street next to the cruiser.

"It was my old friend Billy Black's," Charlie's voice sounded from the doorstep behind me. "You remember him?" I shook my head and he continued, "I bought it off him yesterday. Figured you'd need to get to school somehow, and he won't really be needing it anymore anyway."

"Thanks Dad, I love it." And to my surprise, I was telling the truth. It was perfect. And, it wasn't much, but maybe it would make this day just a little more bearable.

"Your welcome Bells," he blushed, probably glad that he'd got any kind of reaction from me since the past few days, "Think of it as a homecoming gift."

"Thank you. I really do like it," I went up and gave him a quick hug, "But unless I want to be late for school, I'd better get going." I started to walk away again, but turned around when he continued talking.

"Uh Bells, aren't you forgetting something?" He held out the keys to me.

"Oh right. Thanks Dad. Bye." I quickly grabbed them, jumped in the car and turned the key, to be met with a loud rumble as the truck roared to life.

"Good luck, drive careful!" Charlie yelled over the roar of the engine.

I waved once more before driving off down the street, heading to my doom.

***

I was soon finding out just how accurate that thought had been when, pretty much the moment I pulled into the school parking lot, the staring, whispering, and even pointing started.

Attention was never one of my favourite things in the world. It had been okay back in Phoenix, where I'd lived my whole life; everyone knew I was just Bella, the geeky quiet girl, the girl who sucked at all sports and was as pale as a ghost no matter how long she stayed in the sun.

I mean, I was expecting there to be whispers; you don't just transfer schools because of the death of your mother and step father and expect everyone to just move on, and act like you're not even there. In fact, I bet in a small town like this, I was probably the biggest piece of gossip they'd get in weeks. Lucky me, eh? Lucky, lucky me.

Still, I guess what I wasn't expecting was for practically the whole parking lot to go silent as they watched me step out of my truck and head into the first building. It made me a little angry, but mostly I was just embarrassed – as I was sure my bright red face showed everyone – as I quickly ducked into the door to the front office.

It was small and cozy, with a little waiting area filled with about five padded folding chairs. There were plants in plastic pots on every available surface, as if there wasn't enough greenery outside. The room was cut in half by a long counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to its front. There were three desks behind the counter, one of which was manned by a large, red-haired woman wearing glasses.

She looked up, "Can I help you?"

"Uh yeah, I'm Isabella Swan," as I said this, I saw awareness immediately followed by what I guessed was pity and sympathy light up her eyes. Great, everyone knew then. "I'm new here today…" I trailed off, figuring I wouldn't need to say anymore.

"Of course," she said. She dug through a pile of documents on her desk till she found the ones she was looking for. "I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school." Well, at least I wouldn't have to worry about getting lost – I'd just have to worry about looking like an idiot being the only person in the whole school to have to carry around a map to find my way.

After going through my classes for me, highlighting the best route to each on the map, and giving me a slip to have each teacher sign, which I was to bring back at the end of the day, she said, the look of pity and sadness back on her face "I hope everything goes okay today. I'm sorry about your mom and all."

"Thanks." I mumbled, trying to swallow the lump that had risen in my throat. She nodded once more, seeming to realize I didn't wish to say anything more about the subject, before telling me to have a good day, and pointing me in the direction of my first class.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. A few kids came up to me, telling me how sorry they were about what happened. Each time I tried to smile and say thanks, but I couldn't help but wish they would just leave me alone; it was hard enough having to deal with being the new girl without having to try to refrain from crying every time someone mentioned my mother.

A few of the 'braver' kids offered to show me the way to classes, which I accepted, needing all the help I could get in not having to get my map out and look like a dork. One, Eric I think his name was, was a gangly boy with a lot of acne. He was okay, a little over-helpful maybe, but at least he didn't say anything about my mom. He simply chatted a little about the weather, and I tried to smile and reply normally, but not really succeeding in doing so.

Another, whose name I can't remember, was in both my Trig and Spanish classes. She was several inches smaller than me, with wild, curly, dark hair, but seemed happy enough to babble away, without me having to come up with much of a response. I just smiled, and nodded and tried to seem even remotely human. It proved to be harder than I thought when she started bombarding me with questions about my mom.

I swiftly, changed the subject back to a safer topic by asking her if she knew any good shopping places in the area. That immediately launched her into a brand new discussion on shops and places and clothes and I silently breathed a sigh of relief.

After we'd gotten our lunch – I only got an apple and some soda. I was feeling nauseous enough as it was without adding some disgusting looking macaroni and cheese to my uneasy stomach – I followed the girl, who I'd remembered was called Jessica, to a lunch table full of people whose names I forgot the moment she spoke them.

Jessica immediately started to babble away to the whole table about who knows what, and I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable.

Now and again, someone would direct a question my way, usually a simple "So, how do you like the weather here? I bet it's a lot different from Phoenix, huh?" or "How do you like the school? What classes do you have?" Again, I tried to answer honestly and sound a bit less like I just wanted to run out of there as fast as humanly possible, but I just wasn't in the mood for talking.

Or eating, apparently, seeing as how when I'd tried a bite of my apple it had tasted like cardboard in my mouth, and it now lay untouched apart from that one bite, on my tray.

It was just as Jessica had started a new babbling topic that they walked in. The nauseous feeling in my stomach just about multiplied by a hundred.

I guessed the no sleep – and no food – thing was getting to me finally, because for some reason my brain didn't register as fast as my body that I should have been terrified. I was even some what intrigued at first.

"Hey," I interrupted Jessica mid-babble, causing everyone at the table, who hadn't been before anyway, to turn and look at me. I blushed but continued "Who are they?"

She barely had to glance in their direction to know who I was talking about. I guess the awe in my tone was enough to clue her in.

"Oh," she replied, smiling slightly, "That's the Cullens._"_ She looked around at them again after saying this, and giggled a little.

There were five of them in total. Three boys and two girls.

One of the boys was huge, with some of the biggest muscles I'd ever seen. He had dark, curly hair, and a cute face. The other was taller, leaner, but still muscular, with honey blond hair. I couldn't help but think he looked a little like he was in pain. And the third was the tallest, less bulky, with untidy, bronze coloured hair, and a slightly more boyish face. They were all, to say the least, exceptionally beautiful.

And then there were the girls. One was tall, with long, golden blonde hair that flowed past her shoulders. She was easily one of the most beautiful girls I'd ever seen. The other, had short, dark, spiky hair, and was tiny, with cute, pixie like features. And, again, they were breathtaking.

"The big one is Emmett Cullen, and the blonde haired girl, that's Rosalie Hale. Jasper Hale is the blond guy, and that little dark haired girl, is Alice." She glanced at the last boy with a look of longing, "And that last guy, is Edward Cullen. They all live with Dr Cullen and his wife." It was as she said this last part that Edward, the boyish one, looked up, as though he'd heard us. _That's impossible,_ I chided myself, he was on the complete opposite side of the cafeteria, he couldn't have heard.

He looked quickly at Jessica, and smiled slightly, as though laughing at a joke that no one else had heard, before looking at me, too. His dark eyes studied me briefly, before he looked back down quickly, obviously not interested in the slightest.

"Wow." was all I could manage. I'm sure they were all beyond stunned with my amazing vocabulary.

Jessica sighed, seeming to understand. "I know. But they're all together - Emmett and Rosalie, Alice and Jasper. And they live together." Her voice said she was shocked at this. I guess it was a little strange.

"They don't look related." I was simply stating a fact, but she soon filled me right in.

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all  
adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins - the blondes - and they're foster  
children."

"They look a little old for foster children."

"They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She's their aunt or something like that."

"That's really kind of nice - for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," Jessica admitted reluctantly, and I got the impression that she didn't like  
the doctor and his wife for some reason. With the glances she was throwing at their  
adopted children, I would presume the reason was jealousy. "I think that Mrs. Cullen can't have any kids, though," she added, as if that lessened their kindness.

I decided to leave the conversation there. Jessica probably still continued to babble on, but I wasn't really listening anymore, too wrapped up in my own thoughts, and trying to come to terms with the strange sense of déjà vu I felt, as I looked at the strange family.

They _didn't _look related, at least, not in their hair colour, or sizes. But yet, they did look the same. They all had dark eyes, and strange, bruise like shadows underneath them. And, they were all extremely pale. Abnormally so.

That was when it hit me, and I wondered how I could have been so slow not to notice it sooner. Exceptionally beautiful. Abnormally pale.

There was only one place where I'd seen people like that before. And it was the last place I wanted to think about.

My stomach, which had already been doing back flips, just about turned inside out. _Get out of here,_ was all my mind was telling me anymore.

And I decided I'd better listen to it. So, without another glance at them, I mumbled something about needing the bathroom to Jessica and her friends, before dumping my tray and getting out of there as fast as I possibly could without tripping. I swear I could feel a pair of eyes boring into my back the whole time.

I rushed into the toilets and the first stall I could see, banging the door shut behind me. _Crap, _was all I thought, as the reason why I'd gotten that strange sense of déjà vu came rushing back to me, and tears filled my eyes.

**So, what do you think? Please tell me (:**

**I don't know how good this chapter is, because I sort of just wanted to get it out after feeling bad for not updating for a few days, so sorry if it's crappy. **

**I hope to maybe get another chapter out tomorrow, but I don't know yet. I'll see how many reviews I get ;)**

**I hope you liked it. Let me know if you did, and I will be extremely happy :DD**

**Love Ellen**

**x x x x x x x**


	6. Chapter 5: Hated

**AN; Supp ? (: Right, so, as always, I want to say thank youu for my luurvly reviews :DD . to be honest, I never thought I'd even get to double figures, but I have [: YAY **

**Okay, there is a point to this lil author's note though, for once ;) because I figure seeing as Bella suspects already what the Cullens are, then she'll confront Edward about it sooner than she does in the book. But I'm trying to think of a way that she could gain more… um, evidence? And also, where? Because she can't just be all like in biology 'Hey. You and your family are vampires aren't they?', for obvious reasons… so yeah, I need help ******

**I was thinking for how she gains more 'evidence' of their 'vampiristicc ways' ( Haha :DD) could be by talking to Jacob and his duudey mates OR possibly the van could incident happen earlier. I guess for the van one then she could confront him at the hospital… anyway, I'm just brain storming here (: let me know what you think and would like best :D I'll shut up now and get on with the story;**

**Disclaimer; Curse Steph Meyer and her fabulous writing that, unfortunately, isn't mine. But it will be someday… eheheheheheheeee ( evil laugh ) :D**

Recap

_With a glance at the clock, I saw that it was only 2:00 am – I couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour since I'd last woken from that same, horrible nightmare._

_Today was the first day of September. It was also three days until I started my junior year at Forks High School; a school with a frightening total of only three hundred and fifty seven students._

_I followed the girl, who I'd remembered was called Jessica, to a lunch table full of people whose names I forgot the moment she spoke them. _

"_Oh," she replied, smiling slightly, "That's the Cullens." She looked around at them again after saying this, and giggled a little._

_And, they were all extremely pale. Abnormally so._

_Get out of here, was all my mind was telling me anymore._

Chapter 5; Hated

Wiping away what I hoped was the last of my tears, I slowly straightened up. Well, this was just great. I'd been here for, what? One morning and already I was having to run to the toilets weeping.

_Pull yourself together Bella_, I thought desperately, not wanting to appear like I'd been crying in front of all my classmates. Plus, seeing as I'd spent the last ten minutes of lunch, and I was pretty sure I'd heard the bell go a little while ago, so maybe the first few minutes of class too, I'd have to walk into the room and face all the stares. Again.

Well, at least I had the excuse that it was my first day.

I shook myself once more. It's just a coincidence, I told myself; lots of people are pale. Heck, I would know. Anyway, as I'd seen for myself, 'the Cullens' had dark eyes, not red. Not wild, hungry scarlet eyes that –

Okay, sitting here wasn't helping me one bit. At least when I got to class I'd be forced to concentrate and forget my thoughts for a while. And there were only two more lessons left in the day, I could handle that, right?

Instead of answering – talking to yourself, even if it is in your head, is never a good sign – I stood up shakily, my legs feeling like they'd fail me at any moment.

After creaking the door open slowly and seeing that I was very much alone – I wasn't surprised. It was hardly five star quality in here; I mean, ever heard of air freshener? Didn't think so - I slowly retreated from my cubicle, clutching a few dozen extremely dampened tissues. I was afraid if I tried to flush them, the toilet would block.

Quickly tossing them in the bin, I looked to the mirror; ugh, not good. My eyes were red and a little puffy. It was blatantly obvious what I'd been doing the majority of my lunch hour. I considered sunglasses, but soon realized that I wasn't in Phoenix (sigh) and would probably look like even more of a freak than I already did if I walked into class with shades on.

My best option was probably to wade it out for a bit longer and at least try to let the redness fade a little, but, the truth was, I just didn't care enough. I hardly knew anyone here anyway, so it wasn't too likely anyone would ask if I was okay, as for all they knew, I could look like that all the time. If they did ask, then I'd just make up some excuse about allergies. Lame, I know, but I just wanted to get the day over with.

With a little sniffle, and one more fleeting glance at the mirror, I sighed and left the room. Biology was next, I think.

At least no one was around to see me have to get out my map to find the way. Now I guess when the teacher asked why I was so late, my 'lost' excuse was partially true.

After a few minutes of staring down at my map, trying to commit the next route I'd have to take as well as this one to memory, I made my way over to the correct building and headed into the door, hanging my jacket up on the way as everyone else had.

"Aah, Miss Swan. So nice of you to join us; better late than never I guess," Mr. Banner said, causing the whole class to look my way. Great.

I ducked my head, in hope of hiding my newly scarlet cheeks with my hair. "Sorry," I mumbled "I got lost."

He looked at me, and, probably seeing my red eyes, seemed to nod slightly, took the slip that I held out to him, signed it quickly and motioned for me to sit down.

I glanced up and searched the room for an empty spot, when much to my dismay, I saw that there was only one left. And it was right next to _him._

He was the boyish one, the skinnier one, – though how I could've ever thought him skinny, seeing the muscles under his clothes more closely now as I approached the table cautiously, I don't know – the lone one. What was it Jessica had said his name was? Edward, I think. Edward Cullen; aka my own personal nightmare.

Stopping beside the desk, I placed my books on the table, and slowly sat down.

I know, I know, it sounded stupid even to my own ears. I was scared because I thought my lab partner was a vampire. Hell, it sound like I should be sent to a shrink.

But I couldn't help it. Not only because the weird sense of déjà vu was still there whenever I snuck a glance at him, or because it was now accompanied with a horrible feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. No; it was because whenever I did sneak a glance at him – which I'll admit, was pretty often. But hey, he was pretty damn gorgeous no matter how scared he made me feel – he was glaring back at me.

And I wasn't even exaggerating. His eyes, black as coal yet still somehow mesmerizing and beautiful to look into, were filled with such pure hatred and disgust that it made me wince every time I met them with my own. It was baffling; how could someone hate me so strongly when I hadn't even said a word to them? And it didn't do much good to the whole terror factor either.

Right through class he continued staring. I hid behind my hair, angled my chair away from, and even stared back at him for a bit, but it was all to no avail. He just glared daggers at me, with those beautiful eyes so full of menace, all lesson long.

When the bell rang, I glanced around at him again, a little curious as to whether he would actually move, or continue staring at an empty space, but he was already at the door, and striding quickly away to his next class.

I let out a small sigh. Whether it was a sigh of relief, that at least he hadn't eaten me and I had survived the lesson, or a sigh of frustration, not knowing what I could have done to aggravate this perfect stranger, I wasn't sure. A mixture of both I guess. With a little fear in there somewhere too. Okay, a lot of fear.

However, before I had time to ponder this, my thoughts were interrupted and I looked up to see a smiling boy, one that I recognised from the lunch table… I think.

"Hey, Isabella, right?" the boy said, he seemed friendly enough. It was a nice change to look into his bright eyes that were filled with kindness after seeing only Edward's icy scowl for the past fifty minutes.

"Uh, just Bella, actually," I replied, gathering my belongings and slowly walking towards the door. I was in no hurry; my schedule told me the next period was Gym. If there's one lesson that I absolutely despise, it's Gym.

"Bella, cool. I'm Mike; I think Jessica introduced us at lunch?" He said it like a question so I just nodded slightly, and he continued, "So, what do you have now?"

"Gym, I think," I barely suppressed a groan as I said it. Feeling like I should maybe participate just a little more in the conversation, I mean, he was just trying to be friendly, I added "And you?"

"Same," As he said it his grin got wider… okay so maybe this kid was a little _too _friendly. "I'll walk you there."

He kept up polite conversation most of the way there, and, as usual,I tried my best to sound happy and normal, but my thoughts were elsewhere. Elsewhere, on a certain Cullen, might I add.

We had to part ways at the changing rooms. I hurried on inside, glad to be able to think a little, without having to come up with a valid response to the same questions I'd been asked about ten times already that day.

Thankfully, today's lesson basically consisted of the teacher lecturing us about volleyball – I barely suppressed a groan at that too. I sucked at volleyball even more than any other sport; even if I stayed in the back corner and ducked whenever it came my way, the ball still found some way of hitting me in the face. The hour seemed to pass in a blur, and I gave another short sigh (of relief this time) when the final bell went signalling the end of the day.

I hurried to the office, wanting to give in my slip and get out of there fast; I'd had enough of this place for one day.

Obviously fate had other plans for me though, because as I walked into the door leading to the quaint office, I saw the last person I wanted to see – or rather, the last person who wanted to see _me._

Edward Cullen was leaning on the counter, his dark, and, it has to be said, sexy eyes on the red haired receptionist, all the menace gone from his face, even though he seemed to be arguing with her in a low, attractive voice; she seemed slightly dazed. By his proximity, most likely, I knew I would be if I were in her position.

I stood, my back pressed against the wall, waiting for the receptionist to be free, and also trying to make out what he was saying to her.

After a few seconds, I got the gist of the argument. He was trying to trade out of Biology.

I continued to stand there but I couldn't help the fact that my mouth dropped open as I struggled to comprehend what, exactly, it was that I had done to make him hate me so quickly and so deeply. How could I have offended him so much that he wanted to change his time table, just to get away from me? Surely, it had to be something else, something more than just me.

It was as I was thinking this that the door swung open again, causing a gust of cold wind to blow into the room, and, just as the air hit him, Edward tensed. Slowly, he turned around. I gulped. The look of pure hatred was back in his cold, piercing eyes, but somehow even worse. It seemed oddly out of place in his absurdly handsome face.

Still, the glare was enough to make me cower slightly back against the wall, and the receptionist looked at him in shock.

"Never mind, then," he said hastily in a voice like velvet. "I can see that it's impossible. Thank you so much for your help." And he turned on his heel without another look at me, and disappeared out the door.

I watched after him for a second, as he strode toward his car, still puzzled and absolutely terrified. I guess I hadn't ruled out the whole vampire thing just yet… and if he kept on acting this way, I didn't think I would.

Slowly, I walked across the room to the desk, and handed my slip to the receptionist.

"How was your first day dear?" she asked, probably slightly concerned about how pale I looked, and my probably still puffy eyes.

"Fine." I don't think she believed me, but, thankfully, she didn't press it any further and just took my slip and waved me away.

I didn't need to be told twice.

***

As I sat on bed later that night, thinking about my day, I came to a decision.

I was going to confront him. No, not about the vampire thing. He'd want to move even more if I asked him that.

I meant, ask him what I'd done to offend him. Maybe he thought that I'd run out of the cafeteria because of his family… okay, that was the truth but surely, he couldn't know that. Could he?

Whatever, I couldn't just leave it, anyway. And, maybe it wasn't the best idea to anger a vampire – not that he is one – but I figured if I asked him in a room full of people, then I'd have less chance of being slaughtered. Or he'd just slaughter everyone else too. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to chance it.

I mean, unless he's talking to me instead of just glaring, how am I going to find out if his family are vampires or not?

Oh god, did I just think that? This no – sleep thing is really starting to catch up with me. The Cullens are not vampires. The Cullens are not vampires. _The Cullens are NOT vampires…_

I was still chanting that to myself when I finally fell asleep…

"_Hello Bella…" _

_He began stalking towards me. Somewhere in my mind I registered that this was usually the time that I woke up, and I wondered why I wasn't. But instead of acting on this and waking myself up which maybe I should have, I continued to shake in fear and cower back against the wall. _

_Suddenly, with a deafening thud, the monster was thrown through that same wall, causing me to have to dive out of the way before I was crushed by two pretty heavy objects. I looked around for the source of this new happening… and there he was, in all his godlike glory. Edward Cullen, my savior._

I awoke again with a start, breathing heavily, but for once not because of the dream I'd just witnessed. My stupid alarm clock was ringing away telling me to get ready for another day in hell. I began to get up, but my mind started to catch up with me, and I stopped dead.

I'd slept the whole night. I hadn't woken once since I'd been asleep. It was all because of Edward Cullen.

I'd dreamt about Edward Cullen. I'd dreamt Edward Cullen had saved me from the monster that killed my parents.

As I was still trying to comprehend all of this, I stumbled my way to the bathroom. There was another smaller voice in the back of my mind that I decided to ignore for the time being. _What are you doing? What if he's one of them? _It told me.

And I guess it was right. Either way, I was in pretty deep shit.

***

No matter what I'd dreamt about that night though, nothing was going to make me change my resolve to confront him.

Nothing, it seemed, but Edward himself, that is.

I sat there at lunch, trying to tune out Jessica's non-stop nattering before I was forced to shoot myself in the head, when they walked into the cafeteria, just as glorious as the day before – maybe more so.

I wasn't immediately concerned when he didn't appear straight away – he had been the last one to enter yesterday too.

But after about five minutes of frantic looking around, it hit me. And I couldn't deny it any longer. He wasn't coming. Because of me or because of something else, I wasn't sure. But I could probably make a good guess.

Still not believing that I could possibly make someone move away from school by simply looking at them – I'm not that ugly, am I? – I rushed to biology early.

For some reason I wanted to see him, badly. And that in itself was a big mistake on my part. But at the time, I just told myself it was because I wanted so badly to know what I did wrong.

However, I didn't find out that day. Or that week even. Not that month either.

Edward Cullen didn't set foot in the school again for over a month. And it was all because of me. I think.

**So, how was** that? Okay? I think it was one of the more crappy chapters, but please let me know if you like, hate, w/e. (:

Oh and also tell me what you think about the whole Bella discovering Eddie's blood sucking secret.

Reviews are like chocolatee :D

Love Ellenn

x x x x x


	7. Chapter 6: Conversation

**AN; Heyy again :) okay so thank you a million times to all of my fabulous reviewers, favouriters, heck, anyone who even looked at my story – thank you! I love you :) ****ha, bet that's scared you :D**

**So I get where you're coming from, saying I need to make Bella more scared, and I will try and do that in this chapter (:**

**I would just like to apologise that this story is moving so slowly, and I will get Bella and Edward talking properly and things happening that are a little more exciting than just going to school soon, but I just don't want to rush anything. I will try to make things move a little faster though, and get chapters out a little more quickly too.**

**Okay, that's about it really, so, enjoy the chapter (:**

**Disclaimer; Stephenie Meyer still owns the sparkletons, bella, Charlie, forks etc etc. basically she just owns everything. Maybe even my soul if she agrees to the deal…**

Recap

_I glanced up and searched the room for an empty spot, when much to my dismay, I saw that there was only one left. And it was right next to him. _

_Edward Cullen, my own personal nightmare._

_His eyes, black as coal yet still somehow mesmerizing and beautiful to look into, were filled with such pure hatred and disgust that it made me wince every time I met them with my own._

_It was as I was thinking this that the door swung open again, causing a gust of cold wind to blow into the room, and, just as the air hit him, Edward tensed. Slowly, he turned around. I gulped. The look of pure hatred was back in his cold, piercing eyes._

_I'd dreamt about Edward Cullen. I'd dreamt Edward Cullen had saved me from the monster that killed my parents._

_Edward Cullen didn't set foot in the school again for over a month. And it was all because of me. I think._

Chapter 6; Answers

_I don't like Edward Cullen, I don't!_, I was walking to Biology class, my hands thrust in my pockets in an attempt to not get frostbite – winter in forks? Yeah, not so fun – repeating the same message that I had told myself about a million times this past month. Mainly, because all I'd been able to think about was him.

I know, stupid. But I couldn't help the disappointment that I felt everyday when the seat next to me was left empty. I tried telling myself it was because I wanted to know what I'd done wrong so badly, but in the end, I had to admit it.

Stupid, stupid, stupid. I mean, I should have been scared shitless of the guy – actually, I think I was, but that was part of the intrigue – and instead I was practically drooling over him.

Don't get me wrong though, I was pretty terrified. Especially since now all his siblings seem to do at lunch is send menacing glares my way; as if it's _my_ fault Edward's gone to visit relatives in another country. At least, that's the story. _Yeah right,_ a voice scoffed in the back of my mind, but I did my best to ignore it.

The blonde one, though the most beautiful of them all, was also the scariest.

About a week after Edward's sudden disappearance, I'd passed her in the hall whilst on my way to class. Timidly, I'd glanced up in her direction, expecting her to just be looking ahead, not acknowledging my existence at all, as was per usual for the Cullens who seemed oblivious to the fact that they weren't the only ones at this school, but I was wrong.

With a look of such hatred that I'd only seen matched once before – on her brother, actually – she stared down at me. I cowered back against the lockers we were passing, ducking my head in an attempt to shield myself with my hair.

Thankfully, the big one came then, and ushered her away quickly, whispering something that I couldn't make out as it was so low and his lips seemed to be moving at an incredible pace.

All that day, I couldn't get the picture of her out of my mind. She'd looked _murderous._ But, that wasn't all that had shaken me.

As I'd met her eyes, I noticed something different than the last time I'd looked at them. Instead of being the same dark, black colour that I was sure the whole family's had been, they were a light, beautiful, amber.

But that's ridiculous, people's eyes don't change colour. And, still, what does it matter? They weren't red at least…

A loud ring that I recognised as the bell ringing for the beginning of the lesson brought me out of my reverie. I had made my way into the biology room and sat down next to his empty seat during my reminiscing.

Mr Banner wasn't here yet, so I slowly placed my books on the desk in front of me, and continued to think about the previous month.

I vaguely registered the scraping of a chair that seemed to be coming from very close beside me, but was too wrapped up in my own thoughts to think much of it.

As Mr Banner hurried into the room however, I once more became aware of my surroundings. Glancing around, I couldn't stop my mouth from dropping a little when I saw him. My memory really hadn't done him justice.

There, in the seat next to me sat a God. Fear flowed through my body as I recalled our last meeting, but I pushed it away as best as I could.

His eyes were on me, thankfully not as hate filled and terrifying as the last time I'd looked at them. I couldn't help but notice, too, that his eyes were no longer black, and instead were a warm, golden colour; just like Rosalie's…

I looked away, blushing a little under his gaze, but I could feel his eyes still on me, even as Mr Banner hushed everyone and made to begin the lesson.

Trying to ignore his blatant staring – it was almost as if he was trying to figure something out – I focused as hard as I could on Mr Banners' lecture. It is hard, however, to focus when one is being studied by an Adonis sitting not two metres away from you.

And, even harder, when said Adonis makes to talk to you. Yes, _talk_, not glare menacingly, acting as though they were about to kill you… I shivered thinking of the memories that brought.

Fear reared its ugly head again, and I found myself angling my chair a little more away from him.

I glanced at him quickly, seeing if he had notice this minor movement.

Apparently, he had, as he his face looked a little puzzled – he shut his mouth again, probably deciding I wasn't worth speaking to after all - then shifted to understanding quickly. Was he used to people being afraid of him?

I didn't have time to ponder this any longer, as Mr Banner began writing on the board, and I hurried to take notes. Edward took this as another invitation to speak, however.

"Hello," he said, in a quiet, musical voice, "I'm Edward Cullen."

When I made no move to reply – I thought myself unable to form a coherent response even if I'd wanted to, out of shock, and, I had to admit, terror – he continued.

"Bella, right?" Nodding seemed the only response I was yet capable of, so I moved my head quickly up and down and glanced away again.

Those eyes, those beautiful, deadly eyes, were some what hypnotizing. But I couldn't get wrapped up in that. Edward Cullen, and his whole family for that matter were dangerous. Well, okay, so they only fit two of the categories on my list, but it was something, right? Trust your instincts. I mean, I'm not gonna start running around school with a garlic necklace and a wooden stake, - I had feeling that wouldn't do anything, anyway - but I thought it may be best to stay clear from the mysterious Cullens… no matter how breathtakingly beautiful and intriguing they may be. And I know, last month, and most of this month actually, I was saying a completely different thing, but after witnessing Rosalie's and Edward's death glares, I figured maybe my hunch wasn't so far off after all.

Mr Banner interrupted my internal babble by shooting a question at Edward.

I expected Edward to ask him to repeat the question, as he had clearly not been paying any attention, but he simply spoke the correct – of course – answer, not taking his eyes from me the whole time.

And that was when I made the mistake of looking at him, and was immediately lost in pools of gold and amber.

It took me a few seconds to realise that he had actually asked me something – what, exactly, I don't know – so I mentally shook myself and tore my gaze from his._ Come on Bella, concentrate,_ I thought. I mean, I'd just seconds earlier been thinking of how him and his family were bloodsucking monsters – I give up trying to reason with myself – and here I was, letting him distract me with his beauty.

"What?" Good one Bella. Way to shock him with your excellent vocabulary and wit.

"I asked how you were liking the weather here. I imagine it's very hard to adjust having lived in a place like Phoenix all your life," he said, with a fairly amused look on his perfect – I mean, _monstrous_ face.

"Uh, I don't really like the rain," I said, trying to be nonchalant and failing as my voice came out a little higher in pitch than usual.

"So you decide to move to the wettest place in America?" he replied, with a chuckle. Smartass.

"It's a little more complicated than that actually," I spat, narrowing my eyes, forgetting for a moment that I was possibly arguing with a vampire.

"Oh?" he murmured, unmoved by the venom in my tone, a small smirk still on his face. Well, I'm glad I was entertaining him so much.

I decided to try and get the plan back in action and moved to face the front of the room, when he spoke again.

"Care to tell me why you did in fact move then?"

I was about to tell him that it was none of his business, when I got trapped in his gaze again, and unthinkingly blurted the truth.

"A man came into my house," I sighed, a wave of grief washing over me, "And… killed my mother and step father. Happy?"

"Not really…" He mumbled, mostly to himself, a strange look of determination on his face, "I'm sorry for your loss. It must be terrible to lose your parents like that." He added, very sincerely.

"Thanks," I whispered, and was about to turn away again, when a thought struck me, and I whipped my head back, "Actually, I would have thought you'd have already heard about it. I mean, it seemed when I came here that everyone in the school knew about it… everyone, apart from you apparently."

"I don't tend to listen to the gossip going around, as more than often, I find it's utter nonsense." He smiled at me, revealing two rows of razor sharp, white teeth.

That did it. The terror that I'd pushed to the back of my mind came rushing back, and my brain proceeded to tell me to get out of there.

I looked away quickly, and began to tremble a little. Razor sharp teeth. Teeth, that could bite into my neck and kill me at any minute. Just like what had happened to Renee and Phil. A picture of Edward, his eyes black and filled with hatred again, but his mouth curved into a sinister sneer flashed through my mind.

I felt sick. Moving to the edge of my seat, and leaning as far away from him as possible, I wished, _searched_, for an escape.

"Bella?" Edward asked, concern and confusion in his voice. I must have looked as pale and terrified as I felt then.

A loud shrill sound caused my head to snap up – I don't know what I expected it to be, but my mind had long ago left behind any sanity that it still held – and I saw that everyone was picking up their books, as Mr Banner shouted some last minute instructions over the ringing of the school bell.

I quickly hugged my books to my chest, and fled the room as fast as possible without tripping, heading to the bathroom. The same bathroom I had inhabited on my first day at school. It seemed I might become quite a regular occupant there.

_Saved by the bell,_ I thought, as I hurried on, trying to stem my shaking, _how ironic._

**AN; Was that okay? Sorry if it was crappy. And I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this out. I started writing this on like Tuesday, but only got to finish it on Friday / Saturdayish. ****I'll try and do better, and, seeing as it's half term in two weeks, hopefully I'll be getting chapters out a lot quicker. Life seems to be getting in the way A LOT lately ;)**

**Sorry it was quite short too. I'll work on that. And how was I making bella seem more scared. I think I was suckish, but practice makes perfect eh? And another thing proving difficult to me, was writing what Edward says. I mean, he is a clever prat, so I had to re – write his sentences like five times, as I didn't think they were intellectual enough (: **

**Anyway, tell me what you think, you know I love that :]**

**Love Ellenn**

**x x x x x x **


	8. Chapter 7: Accident

**AN; Heyy, so I thought I'd be a good little writer person and update twice in one/two ****- don't know when this is gonna get out yet - days. Seriously, I think it may be like, a new record for me. :] **

**Anyway,**** thanks to the people who reviewed, they made me smile :D **

**Disclaimer; Sadly, Stephenie Meyer owns all of these amazing characters. **

Recap

_As I'd met her eyes, I noticed something different than the last time I'd looked at them. Instead of being the same dark, black colour that I was sure the whole family's had been, they were a light, beautiful, amber. _

_There, in the seat next to me sat a God. Fear flowed through my body as I recalled our last meeting, but I pushed it away as best as I could._

_He smiled at me, revealing two rows of razor sharp, white teeth._

_Saved by the bell, I thought, as I hurried on, trying to stem my shaking, how ironic. _

Chapter 7; Accident

I skipped Gym that day, grabbing Mike aside before retreating to the toilets, and murmuring something along the lines of "coach… ill… nurse…". He looked kind of startled and very worried; I didn't blame him I probably looked even paler than usual, and let me tell you, that is a big accomplishment.

Probably scared for my health – both mental and physical – he opened his mouth, to protest.

Guessing this, I quickly thanked him and scurried away before he could follow or say anything.

I escaped to the parking lot about ten minutes before the last bell was about to ring, not wanting to get caught up in the crowd.

After jumping in the truck and tossing my bag on the opposite seat, I turned the key and was deeply relieved to hear the familiar rumble of my truck in response. I felt, for the first time since I'd walked into biology that day, safe. Secure.

Without a second glance, I reversed from my space, and tore out of there, probably faster than I'd ever gone in my life, and a lot faster than could be healthy for the ancient vehicle.

***

As I lay in bed that night, I finally let loose the thoughts that I'd been trying to block the whole time since I'd got home in an attempt to calm myself down. I think if Charlie had seen me in that state, then he would have made a little call to the local shrink.

I allowed the picture of Edward's smile to resurface in my mind. It was a little easier now that I was safe in my own home, with Charlie a few rooms away. Okay, so I doubted that Charlie could do anything to protect me from a monster trying to suck my blood, but, hey, he knew how to use a gun. That's gotta be something right?

I wonder if he'd mind if I took that gun to school for the next few days… you know, just in case…

Right, now I'm just being stupid. I just have to suck it up, and get on with my life. If I'm going to be living here for the next couple of years, then I think it might be better for me not to have to run shaking from a classroom every time a guy smiles at me.

I decided to take action right away, and kept the picture of Edward's teeth and his and Rosalie's death glares on a permanent loop in my brain as I closed my eyes, willing sleep to take me. It was probably better for me to practice not freaking out here, by myself, rather than in public.

It worked a little. By the time I drifted to sleep, I'd been able to push most of my terror away and only suffered a little shiver and wince every time they flashed through my mind. I think, with a few more practices and possibly some skipped Biology lessons, I could be over it…

"_Hello Bella…" _

_He began stalking towards me._ _Since that first night, I'd had the same dream of Edward saving me every night, and, sure enough, the monster was promptly thrown against the wall with a loud enough noise to make me cover my ears with my hands. _

_But instead of waking up after gazing adoringly at Edward for a few seconds – pathetic, I know, but hey, it's my dream – I stayed cowering against the wall with my hands over my ears… and watched Edward slowly stalk towards me._

"_I couldn't let him have all the fun, could I now?" He murmured, in that low, seductive voice. With a quick smile, flashing all those deadly teeth, he crouched, and leaped for my throat…_

I woke up with a gasp. So much for being over it.

***

It seems I was back to the two – hour – sleeping regime. After the familiar but different nightmare, I was pretty much back to square one. I had to put my pillow over my face to try and muffle my newly irregular breathing patterns as to not worry Charlie enough for him to call an ambulance, thinking I was having a fit or something.

I very nearly raced straight back to my room and into bed after Charlie had left for work, but I figured that, living in a town so small, he'd probably have found out by the end of the day that I'd skipped anyway.

Plus, I couldn't just let them make me hide away in fear all my life. And if I was going to take a stand, then I decided to just get it over with, and go back to my original plan; avoiding everything and anything to do with the Cullens. And, unfortunately for my grades, that meant avoiding biology too; at least for the time being anyway.

So, after convincing myself it would all be okay, and if all else failed, then I would just run - childish, I know, but it was the best I could think of at the time – I hesitantly climbed into my truck and turned the key.

It took me a little longer than usual considering how icy the roads were. You gotta love Forks eh? Roads completely covered in ice at the beginning of November. I wondered if I, or my truck, would make it to Christmas at this rate.

Somewhere at the back of my mind I registered that the truck had starting sliding slightly, but my impatience to get to school, which was only a minute away now, was stronger than my common sense at the moment.

It was just as I'd turned into the parking lot that it happened; a boy that I recognised as Tyler, from my lunch table, turned a corner and started speeding straight for me. He was frantically trying to change course, but the ice slicked roads weren't helping, and just made him swerve sideways slightly so that he was now coming at me at a horizontal angle.

Of course by the time I realised this, it was too late and slamming on my brakes did nothing to help the situation.

With a jolt, and my heart pounding frantically, I realised that this could be my last few moments alive. The last thing I saw was, ironically enough, Edward Cullen himself, staring in horror in my direction whilst standing a few cars down with the small, pixie like one of his siblings.

Even though I knew it would hardly help in what was to come, I threw my arms over my head and ducked a little, bracing myself for the impact of being hit head on in a matter of milliseconds.

But instead, I felt the truck suddenly jerk to the left, causing my head to hit the window with a thud. I heard another deafening crash as, what I guessed to be Tyler's van, made contact with the truck.

I forced my eyes open, trying to ignore the throbbing in my head and the fact that I could feel wet on my hands. My vision was blurred, but I managed to make out a figure standing beside my van. They were peering in with concerned, and somewhat hungry, eyes. Not just any figure, but Edward Cullen. He noticed my gaze and, with a quick glance at my head, his eyes seemed to grow darker and he turned and ran.

That was when the screams started, and I could no longer ignore the pain in my head. I let my eyes slip closed again, and was lost in darkness.

I vaguely remember being lifted out of the truck, and placed on what I guessed was a stretcher. The journey in the ambulance seemed to take only seconds, but that was probably because I drifted in and out of consciousness the whole time.

Whilst I was conscious though, I tried my best to think about what had happened. I mean, shouldn't I be dead? Tyler was coming straight for me… and something, some_one _maybe, had pushed me out the way… I'd seen Edward Cullen standing beside my van afterwards… he had been standing a few car spaces away just the second before…

I was sitting up in a hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around my head to stem the bleeding, and waiting for the doctor arrive when I finally put it all together. Hey, I'd just been in a car crash where I probably shouldhave died, I couldn't help being a little slower than usual.

But, if I'd guessed right, and Edward _had _moved the truck – single-handedly when it was going at a pretty fast pace – and gotten there in time from at least ten metres away, then what did that mean? Had he really just ticked two more categories on my mental list? Did that mean that my hunch was right? Did Edward Cullen belong to the same species that only a couple of months ago had been responsible for my mother's murder? Did this mean his family did too?

And if they did, then shouldn't I be dead now? If not from them killing me just like someone had killed Renee and Phil, then from the van accident? Why would he choose to _save_ me?

My head was spinning and not just from the injury, but I couldn't handle all these questions. Nothing made sense.

Just then, the doctor walked in… and my jaw dropped. With looks that would make any movie star jealous and that strange, but familiar, pale skin, I didn't need to ask his name to know that this must be Mr Cullen. Dr Cullen, I guess.

He must have misread my shock for confusion, as he quickly smiled and said, "Hello Bella, I'm Dr Carlisle Cullen. You had an accident on the way to school this morning, but you've nothing to worry about, just a minor head injury. We'll get you stitched up, and back home in no time, I promise." With another warm smile, he added "You were very lucky. Your truck seemed to have swerved at the last minute, probably saving your life."

"Yes, very lucky, I don't even remember trying to make the truck turn, just slamming down on the brakes. I thought I saw Edward, actually, standing quite nearby after the truck swerved, but I mean, that's impossible; he couldn't have had anything to do with it, could he?" I replied, testing him for any sort of reaction that that may cause.

"Well, you'd hit your head Bells," Charlie's voice came from behind Dr Cullen. I hadn't even noticed he was there since then, "You probably weren't in the right state of mind." He was standing in his uniform, looking quite worried, and I thought his eyes looked a bit puffy; but I probably just imagined that. Along with everything else, apparently.

"Right." I murmured, not convinced.

"Well, let's get those stitches in," Dr Cullen said, completely calmly, my statement not having bothered him in the slightest, it seemed.

***

I was still sitting in that stupid, uncomfortable hospital bed an hour later, having been stitched up, and sent for x – rays. We were just waiting on them now, and if they turned out okay, then Dr Cullen had promised that I'd be on my way soon.

I had been told that Tyler's' injuries were more serious than mine, but nothing more than that.

It was as I was sitting there, on my own – Charlie had mumbled something about going to get coffee, but I think he just wanted to get out of there – quite enjoying the peace and quiet, when who should walk in, but Edward himself.

As soon as he got within a metre of the bed I hissed "You moved the truck didn't you?"

He looked a little shocked at my forwardness, but quickly hid it with a small – false - smile and said in a calm voice, "What are you talking about Bella?"

"I'm talking about the truck 'randomly' moving just a second before it would've shot into Tylers' van, most likely killing me, and the fact that I saw you, standing beside it just a few seconds afterwards when you'd been standing by your car only a second before!" I said, getting angrier by the minute. Does he really think I'm that stupid?

"You hit your head Bella," he said coldly, with a slight scowl, "It's normal for you to imagine things."

"I didn't imagine anything." I replied, narrowing my eyes, and pronouncing each word carefully.

"Right. So I moved the truck using my inhuman strength and speed did I?" he retorted, with a bitter mocking edge to his voice. That just about tipped me over the edge, and my anger took over.

"Yes, you did." I whispered, not especially wanting anyone to overhear the next bit of our conversation. He opened his mouth again, about to interrupt me, but I raised my hand to stop him. "Let me tell you something about the night my mom was murdered. You remember that right?" Seeming a little shocked, by my menacing tone of voice, he simply nodded his head a little. "So the 'man' that came in, he seemed a little strange, and not just in the sense that he was a crazy murderer. He was abnormally pale," Edward stiffened a little, "And seemed to snap their necks with a simple flick of his hand." I expected to choke on my words here, but my anger spurred me on.

"But that wasn't all he did. After that, he proceeded to bite into their necks, and _drink their blood._" Edward flinched slightly as I said this, but I carried on anyway, not really caring, "Another one came then, a female. She said something about others coming and they fled before they killed me too. Another 'person' came a little later, and took away the bodies, leaving me alone, the only survivor in a massacre…" he seemed a little confused so I added, "I soon found out that not only had mom and Phil been murdered, but the whole town…" trailing off, I swallowed the lump that had risen in my throat, my anger dying out to be replaced with sadness. I blinked away the tears that had risen in my eyes.

"Bella," Edward sounded dismayed, and I glanced up at him, my eyes having slipped to the floor following the end of my rant, and saw that his face was twisted in horror, pity, disgust, and shame. "I'm sorry… we heard, but… I mean I never thought that was _your_ street… I'm so sorry…" he gulped.

I waved it off, and frowned a little, to hide my grief over the subject, "Right. But don't you dare try and tell me some bull about how I imagined what happened today. Okay? Don't you _dare_. Because I have been through enough to know what I saw today. And what I saw was you acting anything but human." He looked even paler than normal, if that was possible, "I need answers Edward. And you're going to give me them."

**Aaahh! We're finally getting somewhere! Sorry if this chapter sucked, but I wanted to get it out. Also, sorry if the accident was a bit stupid. I didn't want to do the same exact accident that was in Twilight, so I opted for a very similar one instead ;]**

**As you can probs tell, I don't really know much about head injuries and concussions and blaa blaa blaa so sorry if that bit was kinda crappy too.**

**But, I tried. And this has to be the fastest I've updated like, ever, so yeah. I'm just proud of myself for that ;) Plus, it was longer than thee last one :DD**

**Anyways,**** tell me what you think :DD pleaasee? :]]**

**Thanks (: lovee Ellenn**

**x x x x x x**


	9. Chapter 8: Answers

**AN; Reviewers, as always, I lovee you :] sorry it took so long to come outt – again. I guess I really suck at the whole getting chapters out quickly thing. Well, last week I managed to get 2 out in two days, so I'll hopefully be able to get a lot more out; especially now that its half term :DD**

**So my excuses range from my mum being ill , to pathetic ones like it being a nice day and me wanting to sit outside, and even me not being able to find a font that I like. I know, but I have this big issue about writing in fonts that I hate; I'm a freak, w/e. Sorry :[ Jasper can come and bite me.**

**Right, so, without any more delay, here's chapter eight (:**

**Disclaimer; Yep, all these characters are miiiine. – gets book thrown at me – as I was saying, there all STEPHENIE MEYER'S. Ouch, books HURT.**

Recap

_It was just as I'd turned into the parking lot that it happened; a boy that I recognised as Tyler, from my lunch table, turned a corner and started speeding straight for me._

_Tyler was coming straight for me… and something, someone maybe, had pushed me out the way… I'd seen Edward Cullen standing beside my van afterwards… he had been standing a few car spaces away just the second before…_

_He looked even paler than normal, if that was possible, "I need answers Edward. And you're going to give me them."_

Chapter 8; Answers

He left soon after that. But not before I made him swear that I was going to get answers. I know, I know; why should I trust him? It was just something about his face, almost like he was in pain, when he told me 'that it wasn't really the right place for this' – okay, I'll give him that one. I didn't really want any old person listening in to that particular conversation – and 'he had to speak to his family first' that made me believe him, and let him go.

Thankfully, he also agreed to helping me get out of there too, and within another hour or so, I was back at home, with the week off school and some pain killers for my head.

It was when I got home, later that evening, that I began having second thoughts. I mean, if I was stuck at home all week, how was I going to speak to Edward? He didn't promise me a time that he'd give me answers, he just said he'd give me them. Was he bluffing? Was it all just one big practical joke on me, and he wasn't a vampire at all? Had he told all his family, and they were now worried for my mental health and laughing up my idiocy?

I was going over various excuses in my head to make up for my absurd behaviour when I heard a tap at the window.

I was sitting on my bed, in old sweats and a baggy t-shirt, with my wet hair dripping down my back. It was just past ten o'clock at night. Who, in their right mind would climb up to my window at night just to say hi?

Oh, I had a pretty good idea who. My suspicions were confirmed as soon as I looked out the window, and I saw Edward Cullen, hanging on to the frame, anxiousness clear on his face, looking like a fallen angel… how ironic.

I hurried over and shoved it open, whispering furiously "What the heck do you think you're doing?!"

"Exactly what you want," he said, a little amused it seemed, at my shock and embarrassment at him being in my room. He was inside in a second, and I forgot all my worries about going crazy and imagining everything. He was clearly anything but human. I can't really see how anyone could believe he was. "I'm giving you answers."

"Oh," I replied, unsure of what else to say. What do you do when there's a boy – okay, hardly boy. Vampire god is probably more appropriate – in your room? I certainly didn't have a clue, not really having much experience.

Sinking back down onto my bed, I added, "Go on," and motioned for him to sit at my desk chair in the corner of the room.

Instead, he started pacing the length of my room, a little faster than should be possible for a human. The room wasn't all that huge, and if I weren't so impatient, annoyed and, I have to admit, scared, I would have probably found the sight comical. As it was, I just watched with anxious eyes.

After about two more minutes of pacing, he finally spoke, "I don't know where to start," he admitted, a frown on his face, "Well, I suppose I should just make it clear. You were right." He stopped pacing and looked me right in the eye. "My family and I, we are vampires."

It seemed to make the situation a lot more real when he said it out loud like that. I took in a shaky breath and nodded. Now would not be the time to run from the room screaming.

"Okay. Secondly, we did hear about the massacre-" I flinched slightly and he sent me an apologetic look, "Sorry. We did hear about the, uh, incident, in Phoenix. But we never imagined that that's where you lived, that that's why you moved… I'm sorry. We should have realised sooner." He seemed extremely sincere.

I simply nodded again. Edward, or any of the Cullens, actually, seemed to often have the same effect on me; the effect being where I suddenly became mute.

"So I want you to know, my family and I, we're not like that." My face slipped into a slight frown, which he saw, "Let me explain. What I mean is, we don't, _do _that."

My frown grew more pronounced and he sighed. "We don't kill people," he said quickly.

"Oh," again, showing my brilliant eloquence.

"We hunt animals," he explained, this time at a more normal speed.

"Oh," I said, with more understanding. "Is that why your eyes…?" I trailed off, not wanting to sound stupid.

"You noticed that," I nodded, there seemed to be a pattern forming here. He talked, I nodded, or formed one word responses, "Yes, that's why our eyes are golden, not red."

I shuddered slightly at the pictures that brought to mind, but continued anyway, "And they're black when you're, um… thirsty?"

"Yes." His face was a mixture of amusement and shock, "You are quite observant, aren't you?" I didn't reply and there was a few seconds of silence, in which we simply stared at each other.

"Is there anything else you'd like to know?" He asked, breaking the silence. I cleared my throat, for it had become mysteriously dry.

"Only everything," I said, and to my great surprise, he nodded and sat down at the chair I'd first motioned at. He must have seen the shock on my face as he said, "I figure I owe you some answers, considering everything."

More silence. "Well, what would you like to know?"

"Why do you do it?" I asked, before I could stop myself.

Edward look puzzled, "Do what?"

"Not hunt humans," I explained, blushing a little as I realised how stupid I sounded, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm completely glad that you don't. But, why? Why struggle so hard to not be what you inevitably are?"

He looked down, "We don't want to be monsters," he said with a slight frown on his face, "Just because you're dealt a certain hand doesn't mean you have to use it. Wouldn't you feel the same?"

I paused and thought for a while, "Yes, I suppose you're right."

He smiled, and I was happy to realise that I only felt a small fraction of the fear that I had before. "Next question?"

I smiled back, and proceeded to quiz him on whatever thought entered my mind.

And we continued like that, till an early hour in the morning – vampires don't need to sleep, I found out last night. I guess some of the legends we believe about them are slightly correct; but no coffins, I checked that, too.

I didn't have to go to school today, anyway, so I didn't really see the harm in only a few hours sleep.

I awoke quite late in the morning that day, making up for the lack of sleep in the night, and felt strange. Content, happy even.

Because, it wasn't just that the conversation with Edward last night had made me feel a lot less scared of the Cullens than I had since that day in the cafeteria, or even that all my questions had finally been answered – well, maybe not all, but most - but, I had to admit, I'd enjoyed talking to him.

I know, I'm being stupid – no surprise there. But I couldn't help it. As I said before, it wasn't often that I had boys in my room; okay, I NEVER had boys in my room. Especially not absurdly charming and handsome vampires.

I gasped aloud. Because I couldn't deny it any longer. I was falling for Edward Cullen. The vampire. I was falling, alright. Hard.

***

I managed to persuade Charlie that I was okay to go to school the next day, and he gave in with a mumbled "try not to end up in hospital" – which I think was a little uncalled for. It's not like it was my fault Tyler sucked at driving and I was so clumsy I was practically disabled. I was pretty sure _that_ was partially his fault actually. Charlie wasn't too light on his feet either, and he was my father.

So, feeling idiotically happy, I skipped – I know. _Skipped._ Boy, I had it _bad _- out to my truck, resulting in me slipping on the ice that had not melted yet, and landing on my ass. Thank god no one was around to see.

I laughed aloud a little, still stupidly merry, and was shocked when I heard laughter other than my own joining in. Maybe I'd thought too soon.

I spun around quickly, nearly falling again – me and ice, _really_ not a good combination – but just before I could, two ice cold hands shot out and caught me by the elbows.

"Thanks," I said, a little breathlessly, "Uh, what are you doing here, though?"

It was amazingly hard to think clearly when in such close proximity with him.

"I imagined you wouldn't be too happy about having to stay at home all week," Edward said with a smile, seemingly pleased that he'd guessed correct, "And thought you could use a lift to school. I mean, we wouldn't want _another_ accident would we?" He smirked at my scowl, and continued, regardless, "And, by the way you're going, an accident involving you could just be inevitable."

I opened my mouth to protest – that was almost as bad as Charlie's comment. Couldn't they cut me just a little slack? I was alive, wasn't I? – but he put a cool finger on my lips, abruptly stopping any thoughts I had and completely messing up my breathing pattern, and started guiding me towards his car. "We're late for school."

The car ride was mostly silent, until we were almost at school.

"Today's my turn, by the way." He said, facing the road a small smile on his lips.

"Huh?" I asked, caught off guard, I'd been completely lost in my own thoughts. Why did this guy even bother with me? I mean, here he was, incredible inside and out, and here I was, probably the most intelligent thing I'd said to him yet being a question concerning his vampire diet. It didn't make sense.

"Today's my turn asking questions," he replied, the smile growing more pronounced as he turned to look at me.

Oh heck. He was going to find out what a complete and utter idiot I was and never speak to me again.

"Uh, what do you want to know?" I said in an attempt at nonchalance.

"Everything," We'd arrived at school, and he turned into a parking space before grinning at me again. It made me happy to think that that did nothing to me anymore; I could see his teeth, and not be at all worried that I was going to die any second. Probably being dumb again, but I didn't care. For some absurd reason, I trusted Edward.

"What are you thinking?" He broke through my reverie again, surprising me with the tone of desperation and impatience in his voice. Not the kind of question I was expecting, but I suppose nothing was expected with Edward.

"Um," I looked down, battling internally with myself. Tell him the truth and face embarrassment? Or lie? I sucked at lying, so I went with the first option. "I was thinking about how I was a lot less scared of you now than before," I admitted, feeling my cheeks heating up a little.

Edward didn't say anything, so I looked up. His face was turned away from me, but I could faintly make out anger in his features. Worried that I'd said the wrong thing, I quickly changed the subject.

"Why?" It worked, Edward turned to look at me, his turn to be confused.

"Why?" He repeated.

"Why did you ask me that? I mean, no offence, but it's not exactly an incredibly normal question to ask someone…" I added, trailing off, unable to carry on as usual when I looked into his eyes.

Not breaking our gaze, he replied, "I'm not exactly an incredibly normal person," Smiling a little, he added, "Or vampire, for that matter."

I shook my head, trying to reorganise my newly scattered thoughts, "What do you mean?" God, he must think I'm slow, but everything Edward said seemed to be a riddle.

He sighed, "I can read peoples' minds," looking ahead, he added "Everyone's', except yours," before opening the door and getting out of the car. Within a second, he was at my door – the parking lot had gradually emptied during our conversation, and I was going to be late, but I couldn't seem to move.

I just sat there, trying to comprehend what I'd just heard. Edward can read minds. Everyone's mind. Except mine. Well, that I was quite glad about; could you imagine the embarrassment if he could read my mind?

"Are you planning on spending the whole day in there, or what?" He said, trying to appear casual and teasing, but I could see and hear the slight worry on his face and in his voice.

Wanting to ensure him that I wasn't about to run screaming from the area, I quickly shut my mouth and said, "Right. You, you read minds?" He nodded, and I slowly got out of the car, "Just you? Or can all vampires…?"

Slightly relieved that I'd regained a little of my composure, Edward replied, "No, it's just me."

"Oh," he waited a little, I presume to let that sink in. Good thing too, I doubt I'd have been able to form a coherent sentence just yet. Then again, no change there.

"There are others with gifts though," We began walking towards school, slowly, but I figured that at this point there was probably no point in even going to my first period class, considering how late I was anyway.

"Gifts?" He nodded again, and continued.

"Alice, my sister, she can see the future, and Jasper, he is able to manipulate the emotions of those around him," I was, once again, speechless.

"Wow," I managed to get out. "Seeing the future? So how does that-" But I was cut off.

"Nope, that's all you're getting today," He seemed to be back to his normal self, no longer worried that I was going to run away in terror. Or maybe he was, and was just good at hiding it. That wouldn't surprise me, seeing as by the things I had learnt so far, Edward seemed to be good at just about everything.

"It's my day for questions, remember?" I sighed in defeat, and motioned for him to proceed.

And he did. _All day_. I swear I was almost hoarse by the time he dropped me back home. I thought that maybe somewhere in the middle he would run out of questions, but nope; it had to be the most I'd talked since, well, _ever_. And he wasn't even done, he assured me with a smile, before driving away and leaving me standing on my porch staring after him. Probably looking very attractive with my mouth hanging open like an idiot, and possibly even some drool on my chin. I really hoped I was wrong about the drool.

But then again, I suppose I didn't really mind the questions that much, because I'd gotten to spend the whole day talking to Edward Cullen. I even got to sit with him at lunch – of course, it was only lunch for me. If the Cullens had had lunch with us, I don't think it would have gone down too well.

Jessica, and most girls it seemed, were practically green with envy. But I didn't care; I couldn't really concentrate on much else than the God sitting across from me.

The only thing that could have ruined that day, in fact, was something I saw, something I'd seen only once before – well, maybe twice. Someone, to be more precise.

A flash of black hair and a small pale body outside the window of Edwards' car was all it took for a horrible sense of dread to creep into my stomach. But it was enough to make me feel a little less happy about the day. I tried not to dwell on it too much, and instead allowed myself to think about Edward.

But at night, I couldn't keep the images away. I thought of my first day in Forks, and compared what I'd seen then to what I'd seen today. I could have easily been mistaken. I told myself I was mistaken, that it couldn't possibly be what I thought.

But I wasn't convinced. And now I was faced with a dilemma. Should I tell Edward?

**Sorry sorry**** sorry it took soooo long to come out :( shoot me, if you like.**

**Hope it was okay. I don't deserve reviews… but you can always give me some anyway ;D**

**I promise to try and update sooner. Tomorrow, if I can.**

**Love Ellen**

**x x x x x**


	10. Chapter 9: The Cullens

**AN; Heyy ****:] yepp , I'm shocked too; but here I am, as promised. Let's just hope I don't disappoint!**

**I know I say like the same thing every time, but I do just love my reviewers :DD they are the reason that I am updating now. So thank you, and I love you. LOOOTTSS (:**

**Disclaimer; Yes, I own twilight. Elvis is alive too. Pfftt, course I don't own itt, right Steph?**

**Stephenie - *****gazing at picture of Edward* huh? Oh right. Twilight. Aallllll miiinee ******** mmm, Edward .**

**See? ;) Oh , and I sort of borrowed a little bit of description for the Cullen house, because, lets face it, my description sucks (: okay, that's itt , all aboard chapter nine :D**

Recap

_He stopped pacing and looked me right in the eye. "My family and I, we are vampires."_

_I was falling for Edward Cullen. The vampire. I was falling, alright. Hard._

_A flash of black hair and a small pale body outside the window of Edwards' car was all it took for a horrible sense of dread to creep into my stomach._

_And now I was faced with a dilemma. Should I tell Edward?_

Chapter 9; The Cullens

I decided to keep my sighting to myself. After all, if I was mistaken, then what was the point of worrying Edward for no reason?

It did make me feel a little better being around him so much though. I figured, if I had seen right, and I was in possible danger, it would be a lot harder for them to get to me with Edward and his family in such close proximity. See, there are ups to hanging around with vampires.

On the downside, however, vampires seem to be extremely inquisitive. And by that I mean, Edward still hasn't finished asking me questions. I wouldn't be surprised if I'd lost my voice completely by the end of the week.

Still, it was a good distraction. And, talking about home, Renee, and even Phil a little, made me feel better. I mean, Charlie had mostly just shied away from the subject, which was fine by me. But I'd hardly spoken about her or even Phoenix at all since I'd gotten here; it was nice to be able to reminisce a little.

Edward must have twigged this as he asked me more and more questions about my childhood, my school in Phoenix, everything you could possibly ask a person.

Every now and then, he'd ask me what I was thinking though, usually after a moments' silence. It was quite amusing knowing that it annoyed him so much when he couldn't hear what someone was thinking, something that he obviously didn't realise most people have to live with all the time. Usually, I humoured him; unless I was thinking something that I'd rather not share, which seemed to be happening all too often lately.

It was on Friday though, during one of the – pretty rare - moments of silence, that he announced the news that made me forget all of my worries – at least for a few minutes anyway. And then they soon came back, accompanied with brand new worries concerning the fact that I was about to meet the Cullen family, and most of them appearing to hate me instantly.

"What?" I said, a little taken aback. I mean, yeah, we'd been hanging out for about three days, but Edward wasn't exactly Mr. Friendly. In fact, he maintained a strict non–touching policy at all times – much to my dislike.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," He added hastily, immediately worried that he'd been too forward, probably due to the fact that I'd started choking on the piece of apple that had been in my mouth at the time. I really needed to start working on my responses if I wanted his family to think I wasn't just a brain-dead idiot. Which, most of the time I wasn't around Edward, I usually wasn't.

"No, of course I do," I forced a smile, but had a feeling that it looked a lot more like a grimace, "It's just, they don't seem to really…" I struggled for the right words, not wanting to sound stupid, "_like_ me." Okay, I sounded stupid.

As if on cue, the blonde one, Rosalie, looked up from her untouched tray of food, and glared daggers at me. Oops, I'd forgotten she could probably hear me. I looked away quickly, my cheeks turning crimson.

"They haven't had a chance to properly meet you yet," he said, glaring back at Rosalie, and seemingly speaking to her, too, "How can they not like you?" he looked back at me and smiled again, promptly turning my brain to mush.

"Uh," I attempted to regain my composure quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice, and gestured towards Rosalie then back to us again, "Like that. I'm pretty sure that glare wasn't exactly a welcoming one," I mumbled.

Edward rolled his eyes and carried on anyway, "They all wanted to meet you ever since they heard about… the situation involving your Mother. Esme especially," he stated sincerely, staring into my eyes the whole time. Esme, I had been told, acted as the Mother figure of the Cullens, "Please come?"

I sighed, knowing I wouldn't be able to resist if he pleaded like that. Who was I kidding? If it so much as involved Edward, it seemed I wouldn't be able to resist nowadays.

When I didn't say anything, he added, "Rosalie will come around. And I'll make sure she's on her best behaviour," he smiled a little, and I saw Rosalie's eyes narrow slightly, "Everyone else really is dying to meet you," the smile grew more pronounced and I rolled my eyes at his attempt at humour.

"We don't bite," he added, grinning even more widely, and I couldn't help giggling a little.

"Fine," I said in defeat, "But only if you stop the bad jokes." I added, earning another smile.

"They can't have been that bad; otherwise you wouldn't be coming tomorrow," Edward replied smoothly, "Unless it was just my dazzling charm that won you over,"

I could feel my traitor cheeks heating up, yet again, but I tried to reply just as smoothly, "Right. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm just scared you'll eat me if I don't turn up," I said. There was a tiny little bit of truth in that, but I had to say something in order to get the conversation of my probably–blatantly–obvious attraction to him.

To my relief, he just laughed and said, "Yes, that's probably it,"

Suddenly, Alice, the small, pixie-like one, was at my side, making me jump a little and earning her a frown from Edward.

"Are you ready Edward?" she asked him, flashing a quick smile at me. I grinned back shyly. Well, at least one of the Cullens' seemed to like me.

"Yes, I'll just be a minute," he replied, looking at me the whole time, probably gauging my reaction.

"Going somewhere?" I asked, a little confused. Ready? For what? Biology?

"We're going hunting," Alice explained, before Edward could reply, and causing him to frown a little more at her. I was just happy she seemed to be so at ease with me being around. And I liked her forwardness. It was a lot easier to handle than being glared at.

"Oh," I said, understanding beginning to dawn. "Well, uh, have fun?" I blurted, unsure what to say.

Edward smiled. "Right, I'll pick you up the usual time tomorrow?" He asked.

"Sure," I replied, "See you then, bye Alice," I smiled tentatively up at her. To my shock, and Edwards' annoyance, she quickly hugged me, before singing a goodbye and skipping out of the cafeteria, probably wanting to get away before Edward caught her.

"Sorry," he said, glaring after Alice, but I just laughed a little and assured him it was fine. And, after saying a quick goodbye himself and making me promise to try and not kill myself – again, a little slack would be nice. I was able to survive seventeen years of my life without doing so, I think I'll be okay for less than twenty four hours – in the time he was away, Edward left, and I was soon sitting alone, staring at the door he'd walked out of.

The lunch room was practically empty. It seemed I lost track of time as well as plenty of other things when around Edward, and we were usually among the last ones left.

The next couple of lessons went by in a blur, mostly because I spent the whole time thinking about how tomorrow would go. What would they think of me? Would they want to talk about what happened with mom and Phil? I didn't know if I was ready for that yet.

But then again, talking to Edward about Renee and Phil had proved okay, why couldn't talking about that to all the Cullens be alright too?

Plus, they were probably the only people – well, not exactly people – who I'd get to talk to about it without being sent to a mental institution. It was worth a shot.

***

I awoke to the sound of the front door slamming, meaning Charlie was on his way out fishing, and jumped out of bed. Bad idea, I did so with just a little too much enthusiasm, and ended up slamming into my wardrobe at an attempt to regain balance. _Good start_, I thought, hoping it wasn't a bad omen for the day to come.

Knowing I had about an hour before Edward turned up, I hastily grabbed some clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

The hot water of the shower was usually enough to calm my nerves slightly, but I was still feeling just as anxious as I shut it off and stepped out.

I didn't know what to expect today.

After quickly throwing on my clothes, I hurried downstairs, and grabbed a bowl from the kitchen. Just as I sat down and started shoving cereal in my mouth, the doorbell rang.

I nearly choked on my mouthful of food. He was early. And I was sitting there with hair like a haystack, and cereal practically spilling out of my mouth. Attractive.

Gulping down some water to try and stem my coughing, and to make myself appear some what casual and not completely on edge, I took a deep breath and began to walk slowly towards the door.

My heart was hammering in my chest, and I blushed, realising he could probably hear it. With another breath I threw open the door… and there he was. Standing in all his vampire glory, looking good enough to take my breath right away.

Edward's lips tilted up slightly at the corners and I just heard, over the thumping of my heart, him ask if he could come in.

I nodded, again not capable of forming a vocal reply, and moved out of the way of the door. Leading him to the kitchen, I tried to calm down my breathing. So much for casual – I was practically hyperventilating after only spending a minute in his company.

It was mostly quiet whilst I shovelled down the rest of my breakfast, trying not to feel uncomfortable with his constant staring.

We set off just as soon as I finished, and the car journey was mostly silent too.

He must have heard my throbbing heart – yes it had started up again, and I'm not surprised he heard it, considering the sheer loudness of it – because he was quick to reassure me, "It'll be fine, they're all eager to meet you,"

I couldn't help but think _meet or eat?,_ and was again relieved that I was the one exception to his 'gift'. "But what if they don't like me?" I blurted, unthinkingly.

"So you're worried, not because you're visiting a houseful of vampires, but because you think they won't enjoy your company?" he said, only partly teasing.

"Correct." I replied, looking away and biting my lip.

It was silent again, and I simply watched whilst he turned into a road seemingly going into the forest. We passed lots of huge, grand houses, getting bigger as we went on, until they suddenly cut off, and there were just trees surrounding us. A few moments later, we pulled up outside a lone, white house.

The house was timeless, graceful, and probably a hundred years old. It was  
painted a soft, faded white, three stories tall, rectangular and well  
proportioned.

Edward was at my door in a second, just in time to see my mouth drop as I stared up at the huge, beautiful mansion that was the Cullen house.

"You like it?" He smiled, taking my hand and helping me out the car.

"It, has a certain charm," I managed to get out, still gawking at the sight in front of me.

He laughed, and started leading me to the door, stopping just outside.

"Ready?" he said, only half jokingly.

"Not at all," I whispered back, knowing that it wouldn't do any good and that they'd be able to hear me easily anyway, "Let's go,"

He opened the door for me.

The inside was even more surprising, less predictable, than the exterior. It was very bright, very open, and very large. This must have originally been several rooms, but the walls had been removed from most of the first floor to create one wide space. The back, south-facing wall had been entirely replaced with glass, and, beyond the shade of the cedars, the lawn stretched bare to the wide river.

I struggled to keep my jaw from dropping open again as I gazed around at the breathtaking interior.

Waiting to greet us, standing just to the left of the door, on a raised portion of the floor by a spectacular grand piano, were Edward's parents.

I remembered Dr Cullen from the hospital, of course, but my memory seemed to be unable to do any of the Cullens' true justice. He looked just as perfect and handsome as Edward, and next to him stood a shockingly beautiful woman, whom I guessed was Esme.

She looked ready to run up and hug me right there, and with the motherly aura she was giving off, I was having a hard time restraining myself from doing the same. Instead, they both smiled welcomingly, waiting for Edward to speak.

"Carlisle, Esme," he said, breaking the short silence, "This is Bella."

"Hello Bella," Carlisle stepped tentatively forwards, trying not to scare me, I guessed, "It's nice to see you again. When Edward told us about what happened… well, we're sorry," he said, seemingly struggling for the right words. I knew how he felt.

I stepped forward to meet him and took his hand, "Please, say no more," I assured him, "It's a pleasure to see you, too, Dr Cullen,"

"Please, call me Carlisle."

"Carlisle." I smiled, a little shocked, but glad, at my sudden confidence.

Esme returned my smile and also took my hand in hers. "It's very nice to meet you," she said, then a little lower, "If ever you need to talk, if ever you need anything, we'll always be here for you," smiling again, she let go of my hand, after squeezing it gently.

"Thank you, it's lovely to meet you too," I replied, already feeling more welcome.

"Where are Alice and Jasper?" Edward asked, but no one answered, as they had just appeared at the top of the wide staircase.

"Hi Bella!" Alice said, and appeared by my side in a second, bouncing forward to kiss my cheek. Everyone looked shocked, but I was just pleased that she seemed to accept me so easily.

Jasper was there a moment later, and almost instantly, I felt a feeling of calm spread through me. It seemed although I was immune to Edward's 'gift', Jasper could still very much affect me with his.

"Hello Bel-" he began, but was interrupted by Edward.

"Alice?" I glanced back to Alice, and saw that her eyes were glazed over and she was seemingly staring straight through me. Jasper was in front of her in the time it took me to blink and within a moment, she appeared to have come back.

"Did you have a vision?" I asked, realizing only after I'd said it how stupid I sounded. Thankfully, no one was paying much attention to me, and instead were all staring at Alice, waiting for her to say something.

"The same… but there are more of them," she murmured, with a worried look on her petite face. She was answering an unspoken question, but more of who?

"Who?" I said, after a few moments of silence. I didn't especially want to draw everyone's' attention back to me, but I couldn't figure out what was going on.

"Alice has been having visions," Edward said, without looking at me, "The same one each time, with only minor changes. Like the number, for example."

"Of vampires?" He nodded, "Well, what do they look like, maybe I know them," I said, trying to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere. The truth was, I was only half joking, and I couldn't help the sudden shiver down my spine.

"A small, dark haired girl," Alice answered me this time, "And a dark male,"

I froze. It couldn't be. But what are the chances?

**So that's it (: please don't hate me, I have a feeling it got bad; particularly near the end there… and y****ep, I even managed to get some bad vampire jokes in there. Stupid Edward. Making me write them. Sorry if you'd like to throw things at me because of those jokes, blame Edward.**

**And also, I was kinda multi tasking – reading and writing at the same time (: and yehh , I suck at multi tasking, so it wouldn't surprise me if this chapter sucked big time . sorry , at least I got it out quick.**

**But hey, at least its getting somewhere ! the story, I mean (: the only worry I have is that I don't know how long I can drag this out for. Oh well, we'll see [:**

**Thankss ******** reviews are ALWAYS welcome ;] **

**Lovee, your friendly neigbourhood ellenn ( sorry , I love spiderman :DD )**

**x x x x **


	11. Chapter 10: Fear

**AN; Heyy . sorry guys, but I have kinda bad news. I know I suck at updating anyway, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to update until about the 13****th**** after this. Sorry, but my dad is gonna kill me if I don't do well in my exams, so I'm gonna have to do some revision, as much as I hate itt :[[**

**I would've put this up sooner, but I hate when people just put up ANs instead of actual chapters, and didn't want to do that to you. Because of this, though, I don't know when I'll get this out. It's Tuesday now, so I suspect maybe Wednesday, or even thurs; I have three exams tomorrow, ugghh ******

**Sorry again :[ but I'll shutt my trap now, and stop my fingers, and get on with thee chappyy;**

**Disclaimer; All stephss.**

Recap

_I decided to keep my sighting to myself. After all, if I was mistaken, then what was the point of worrying Edward for no reason? _

"_Carlisle, Esme," he said, breaking the short silence, "This is Bella."_

"_Hi Bella!" Alice said, and appeared by my side in a second, bouncing forward to kiss my cheek._

"_Well, what do they look like, maybe I know them," I said, trying to lighten the suddenly tense atmosphere. The truth was, I was only half joking, and I couldn't help the sudden shiver down my spine._

"_A small, dark haired girl," Alice answered me this time, "And a dark male,"_

_I froze. It couldn't be. But what are the chances?_

Chapter 10; Fear

As everyone was still staring intently at Alice, they didn't seem to notice my newly tense posture.

"I can't be sure," Alice went on, oblivious to the fear her words were emitting in me, "But I think his name is –"

"Michael," I breathed, feeling suddenly colder as I said the name that I'd been dreading to hear again for the past four months. This seemed to get everyones' attention, and their heads all swivelled around in unison to look at me. If not for the subject we were discussing, the sight would have been comical.

"How did you…" Edward trailed off, slight understanding lighting his sombre face as he figured it out without me answering. The others weren't as fast, so I swallowed – my throat had become bone dry - and tried to regain a little composure.

"M-Maria, the female vampire," out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jasper tense slightly, but chose to ignore it and tried to carry on, "She said his name, wh-when they were at my house," this only seemed to confuse and shock them more, so I added, "In Phoenix."

That got a reaction. Gasps came from both Alice and Esme, whereas Edward and Carlisle seemed to be having a silent conversation between themselves, a mirrored look of horror on both their faces.

I glanced at Jasper, and was surprised to see that he too wore a mask of horror, but looked extremely shocked too.

"Maria?" he asked me, sounding a little hoarse, "You're sure that was her name?"

"Y-yeah," I replied, still a little shaky, but now confused too. Did he think I was lying?

"Tell her Jasper," Edward spoke, surprising me even more. I think I was missing something here, "She has a right to know now,"

He nodded and sighed, rolling up his sleeves; in the light of lamp he had positioned himself by, and the distance I was away from him, I could just make out hundreds of crescent shaped lines carved into his marble skin.

I couldn't help the gasp that escaped my mouth after I realised that they were in fact hundreds and thousands of scars, running all the way up his arm, and I imagined continuing along his shoulder, which was hidden by his shirt.

"I won't go into details," he said, meeting my shocked look with a wry smile, "Because I don't think… it's necessary at this time."

I nodded and swallowed again, motioning for him to proceed. I knew what he meant; he didn't want to say anything that might upset me. Which was good, because I was feeling pretty fragile at that moment.

"Before Alice and I met the Cullens, there were some wars in the South," Jasper explained slowly, looking at the floor, "Vampires were fighting over land. The most effective way of fighting was to create newborn vampires,"

He must have seen the growing puzzled look on my face, as he added, "Newborns are stronger, faster than mature vampires for a little while," I nodded again. "I was part of them, I helped train newborns," he paused and frowned, "My creator was called Maria," I stiffened, "And from what I can tell by both your and Alice's descriptions…" Jasper trailed off.

"It's her," I barely whispered. If she'd been training and creating newborns with Jasper, then was that what she was doing now, too? Was she making a newborn army to take over Forks? Or did she have another purpose in mind…

I faintly registered Edward move a little closer to me, as if getting ready to protect me any minute. This didn't do too much for my growing fear.

"But why are they here?" I croaked, "For me?"

"It's a possibility," Carlisle spoke this time. I'd almost forgotten his and Esme's presence, I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, my mind still whirring from hat Jasper had told me, "Although it does seem a little strange for them to come so far for one human…"

"He must be," Edward said, looking at Carlisle intently. "There's no other explanation," I guessed he was answering his thoughts.

"A tracker..." Carlisle said, his face a picture of worry and concern, amber eyes on me.

"Tracker?" I replied, unfamiliar with the term. Was he some kind of stalker? Were there such things as vampire stalkers? This whole thing - as well as possibly giving me a heart attack, if the rate that it seemed to be throbbing was anything to go by, anyway, - was making my head hurt.

"Yes. There are vampires, like this 'Michael', that want more than just a hunt. They follow a person, track them. It's more of a challenge," he spat, voice filled with venom and disgust.

"And you think he's," I gulped, "Tracking me?"

"It's the only explanation," he repeated simply, sounding defeated.

***

The car sped along the road, skidding to a stop just outside my house.

Edward was at my door in an instant, taking my hand and pulling me towards the house. He was still very much on edge, and frantic to get me 'safe at home'. I had a feeling that being locked up in my house wouldn't do much to stop hungry vampires from coming in and killing me, but humoured him, and let – although that probably isn't the right word, seeing as I doubted I'd have been able to resist – him drag me to the front door and inside.

Maybe Edward being there would though. Stop them, or at least make them pause a little, I mean. I'd said this to Edward, and he seemed to agree, not making any move to leave once we got inside.

I slowly sank into a chair in the kitchen and put my head in my hands; this day had certainly turned out a lot differently than I'd expected.

Within seconds I felt two cool hands on my wrist, tugging them away from my face. I flinched a little, jumpy from the memories the day had pulled into my mind. He removed his hands instantly, and I sighed, instead resting my chin in my hands and looking at him.

"What will happen?" he understood without me having to elaborate any further, thankfully, and answered as calmly as he could manage.

"From what Jasper remembers, what I've seen for myself, from his mind, Maria is vicious, spends her whole life fighting, or scheming." He swallowed and bowed his head, not wanting to show me whatever emotion that provoked in him. Fear, most likely, if what he was feeling was at all similar to me anyway. "I suspect," Edward continued, slowly lifting his face again, on it a controlled neutral expression, "She'll be willing to fight,"

He paused, waiting for this to sink in. There was obviously more. What more could there be? Wasn't it bad enough already? I'd known the Cullens, excluding Edward, for what, a couple of hours? And already I was potentially endangering their lives with my stupid bad luck.

Maybe I was better off going back to Phoenix. I should have died with my mom, with Phil, instead of dumping my problems on innocent people – well, vampires.

I took a deep breath, and motioned for him to continue.

After scrutinising my face carefully for a few seconds, he said, "And she'll use newborns to do so,"

I blew out my breath, and returned my face to my hands. What did this mean for the Cullens? Jasper had said that newborns were faster, stronger than them; surely, it would end in disaster. And not for Maria.

_Maria._ Just thinking the name made me shudder slightly. I had no doubt that this would end badly.

"What are you thinking?" The hands were back, and tugging again. I released my hands, and shook my head slightly.

Thinking that Edward wouldn't much appreciate the plan that was slowly forming in my head, I quickly mumbled "It's all my fault. Your family is in danger because of me."

Edward sighed, and placed his hand on mine where it now rested on the table. I know it was wrong to be excited by such a small thing, and during the current situation. But I couldn't help it; a note for later, sympathy equals comfort, and contact.

"If you hadn't come here, you would've surely been killed," I winced slightly, but he continued regardless, "It's our job to protect you. We can look after ourselves." He said softly looking into my eyes the whole time. I was soon lost in pools of gold I felt a tiny bit better. Only a tiny bit, though.

"But how are you going to fight against them? I mean, apart from being completely outnumbered, if she does use newborns that is, then aren't you at a disadvantage for power and speed too? How _can_ you look after yourselves?" I replied, a brand new picture popping into my mind.

Esme, fighting against the monsters that had killed my mom. How could someone so sweet, so loving, as Esme, be any match for _that_? I'd only known them for a day, but I couldn't bare it if any of the Cullens were hurt.

"We have friends," Edward returned simply.

That was the last he would say of it, and we spent the rest of the afternoon mostly in silence, both lost in our own thoughts.

I didn't care what Edward thought; if any of his family were harmed, it would be on my conscience. It was _my _job to look after _them._ I'd gotten myself into this mess, I would get myself out, hopefully without hurting anymore people in the process.

Growing more and more determined as each hour passed, I decided I'd go back to Phoenix. Back to my old house. They couldn't do anymore harm there then had already been done. And, with me out of the picture, they would leave the Cullens alone.

I'd go, never return, and life would go on.

I just hoped Charlie would be okay.

And Edward. It would be hard to leave him.

But I'd do it. I'd sacrifice myself to save him. To save his family.

To save Forks.

**Yep, bella's in major martyr mode ;) Sor****ry it took so long! And sorry there isn't gonna be another update for a while . And sorry its short. And I'm just sorry about everything.**

**Sorry it sucked.**

**Don't review, doesn't deserve it.**

**Idc if I sound emo – which I do.**

**Love Ellenn**

**x x x x x**


	12. Chapter 11: Helpless

**AN; Sorry, again, for the wait.**** ( I actually started writing this lastt .. uhh , Thursday I think .. ) Exams are finally over :] Geoggers, biology & physics were hell. Thee rest were okay. Except in English I ended up writing something about aliens… when the topic was bullying… aahh well, moving on…**

**Oh, and sorry if this sucks – I didn't have a CLUE what to put in this one . so it might be just a filler. Or something stupid might happen. Idk, we'll see what happens …**

**Disclaimer; Yeah, my name's ELLEN. Not STEPHENIE. Pfftt .**

Recap

"_And you think he's," I gulped, "Tracking me?"_

"_It's all my fault. Your family is in danger because of me."_

_And, with me out of the picture, they would leave the Cullens alone._

Chapter 11; Helpless

I woke up to find Edwards' arms encircled around me; quite a pleasant awakening, if you ask me. It even made me forget all that had passed in the last day.

For a few moments, at least, when the memories came flooding back and hit me full force: Forks was in danger, and I was the cause; I was going to have to _leave_ Forks, a place that I had only just come to know and even enjoy; I was going to have to leave Edward, a _person_ I had only just come to know, and even _love_.

"You're not going anywhere," Edward's voice stopped my thoughts abruptly.

"W-what?" I stuttered. I thought he couldn't read my mind?! I was pretty sure things would be a little more difficult to manage if I had to leave the country with Edward on my tail, too.

"I said, you're not going," Edward continued, absently playing with a curl of my hair.

"Care to explain?" I retorted, liking to think I sounded even a little angry… it's just it was so hard to be frustrated with someone as beautiful as him.

"I had an interesting chat with Alice this morning," he said, raising an eyebrow and looking me directly in the eyes, obviously thinking this was explanation enough.

Unfortunately for him, having only been awake a maximum of ten minutes, I was still a little slow.

"About…?" I urged, not seeing where this was going.

Of course, in all my distress, I'd forgotten about Alice's little 'gift'. Stupid of me, yes, seeing as how that 'gift' was the way we'd found out about Maria's little plan in the first place.

"You." I still didn't get it. Edward sighed, "You, and your seemingly brilliant – to you, anyway – solution to Maria's scheme."

Oh.

"What solution?" I attempted to feign innocence, immediately knowing my acting skills – or lack of – had let me down once again, as he rolled his eyes and glared at me.

Damn.

"Well, it really is the best possible solution; I mean, think about our options! You can't face a whole army of newborn vampires and two well trained ones all on your own, no matter how many 'friends' help you! You yourself said she was vicious, and-" seeing Edward was about to interrupt, I cut short my own helpless babbling, and instead went for a different approach. And the truth.

"I just don't want anyone to get hurt because of me," I sighed and shut my eyes, not wanting to look at him anymore.

There were a few moments of silence as I felt his arms tighten around me. Deciding that this was a good sign, I opened my eyes to find Edwards' much softer and only inches away from my own.

"Bella," he whispered softly, his sweet breath blowing into my face and dazzling me momentarily, "None of this is your fault. And you don't have to face it alone,"

I opened my mouth to protest, but Edward simply put a finger over it and replied, "Get dressed, we're going to my house,"

Well, I couldn't argue with that, could I?

***

The silence was repetitive. It seemed no one had any idea what to do.

Thankfully, I wasn't the only one who was against fighting, and we were now brain-storming for any other ideas. It seemed my solution had been pushed to the bottom of the pile too, much to my annoyance, seeing as it was – to me, anyway, as Edward had so kindly put it – the best one yet.

"I agree with Bella," Alice spoke for the first time (having been trying to see any decisions that Maria might be making), causing my head to snap up not just at what she'd said.

A loud rumble came from Edward's chest and he glared at Alice. This didn't seem to bother her however, even though it made me shrink back in my seat a little and it wasn't even directed my way, she just smiled back at him.

We were in the Cullens rarely-used (for obvious reasons) dining room, and she was on the other end of the long wooden table, situated beside Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie – who had apparently decided this was a situation worthy enough of her presence.

"Calm down Edward," Alice tutted, "I'm not saying she should go somewhere _alone_," she continued calmly, apparently unaware of the death glare in her direction, "At least, it'll look that way, but she won't really be alone. Plus, we don't really want this playing out in Forks, at least, not if we want to stay here any longer."

"So you're saying I'm going to appear alone to _them_," I concluded from Alice's somewhat confusing statement, "But you're going to be with me?" She nodded, smiling with pride at her plan.

"How?" Carlisle asked, eyes narrowed slightly as he thought, trying to come to terms with just how this was going to work, the same as everyone else. Well, everyone apart from Edward, who instead seemed to be shaking his head at the full plot. Whether it was in disbelief, or disgust, I'm not sure, as his face was blank of any emotion.

"Simple," she said happily, "We run."

I looked around at all the faces at the table, watching to see how this sunk in. Emmett seemed happy enough, probably as it seemed whatever we did, this was going to end in at least some sort of physical confrontation, and from what I'd already observed of his character, this was what he longed for; Rosalie was glaring at me, no doubt agreeing with me on the who-to-blame-for-all-this front; Edward was moving his eyes from me to Alice to all of his family, trying to gauge our reactions and at the same time trying to hide his at the fact that I would have to be on my own, vulnerable, for the majority of this plan; Carlisle seemed deep in thought, staring at nothing in particular; Esme was looking around at all of her family, a nurturing, worried look on her face; and Jasper's face was set with determination as he stared straight out the window, one hand on Alice's laying in the table.

I didn't know what to think. I guess I'd accepted the fact that there would have to be a fight at some point, because that wasn't what bothered me. Telling myself to be brave, I tried to push the thought to the back of my mind, but it was still there, the same thing Edward was thinking: I'd have to get on a plane, on my own, open to any attack.

I shivered a little, and Edward's head swivelled round to look at me at once again.

Ignoring him, I spoke to Alice, "What if they try something on the plane? Or at the airport?"

"They won't. By the sounds of what you've told us, and my visions, this Michael is likely to give in to his more theatrical nature. Both the airport and plane are too risky and won't permit him to do this as well as he'd like. They'll see where you go and follow you," she assured me, loosening the knot my stomach had become, but not quite making it disappear.

"Which by that time, we'll be with you, and you'll be perfectly safe," Edward said quietly, eyes scanning my face to see how I took this.

"Then it's fighting time!" Emmett grinned, and looked at me, "Don't worry Bella, they're going down." He cracked his knuckles.

I frowned and looked away from him, puzzled by his casual take on this surely deadly situation.

"So, when is this going to happen?" I queried, once again glancing around the large table.

Taking this as my acceptance of the plan, Alice immediately launched into a detailed account of how things were going to go, with Edward every so often – and every time he felt me tense up a little at the thought of being alone with _them_ - interrupting her to reassure me.

The rest of my visit went like a blur, with me nodding at occasions, but mostly lost in my own thoughts of what would happen.

Carlisle promised to call the Denali clan, some of the Cullen's friends from Alaska, the next morning, to ask for their help in the fight.

We'd also decided it wouldn't be a great idea to leave on a school day, so as not to raise suspicion from Charlie or anyone else. In spite of this, we didn't want to leave it much longer, either, so we thought it best to put the plan into action next weekend.

Meanwhile, Alice would watch for any changes in their decisions, and Edward would spend as much time as possible with me; just to make sure that I wasn't in any danger of course.

I have to say though; I didn't much mind that last part.

And Edward put the plan into action right away, escorting me home and spending the rest of the day there with me. We didn't talk much, having too much to think about to be bothered with conversation.

"Do you think it'll work?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, not even bothering to hide the slight tremor in my voice.

At my side in an instant - he'd been standing by the window, looking out at the rain pouring down from the sky, as I'd sat slumped in a kitchen chair, listening to the peaceful ticking of the clock on the opposite wall as I tried to slow my rapid thoughts – he took my hand and stared into my face.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to," he murmured gently, "We can find another way to lead them to a different destination…"

I sighed, "That's not what I asked,"

Edward sat down, and waited a few moments before saying, "I hope so."

Well, thanks for the reassurance. I feel much better now.

We sat like that for countless minutes longer, staring into space, our hands entwined and resting on the table in front of us, when a question suddenly sprung to mind.

"Is it easier for you now? To be around me, this closely, I mean?" I asked, curious, and glad for the distraction. I was beginning to get a headache from all the thoughts running through my mind, and it was nice to be able to concentrate on something other than what was to happen in less than a week's time.

Edward looked like he felt the same way. Either that or he was just glad that I didn't ask him another question like the one before, "Yes, I suppose it is." He paused and removed his gaze from mine, obviously thinking about how to word what he was to say next, "It helps that I'm in a different… mind set though now, I think,"

I raised my eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"When you first spoke of the vampires that Alice was seeing as the same ones that were in Phoenix… I felt horrible," Edward admitted, once again staring right into my eyes, and immediately causing all my insides go to mush under his gaze, "Thinking of you in danger… it changed my view on things. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you."

"I-I feel the same way about you," I said, a blush starting to creep up my cheeks. I tried to steer the conversation away from me, "Your family too, that's why I don't want you fighting. There's no guarantee you'll be okay…" I trailed off, as his gaze just grew more intense.

Edward ignored me, and slowly moved closer to where I was sitting, not taking his eyes off me for one moment.

"I was thinking, earlier…" he barely whispered, only inches away from me now. I couldn't stop myself from leaning in closer too, and inhaling his beautiful scent.

Eyes darkening by the inch, he murmured "Stay very still," before carefully lowering his lips onto mine.

**Sorry ****it's short; I figured this was a good place to end it. **

**And sorry for the wait. Blame school.**

**More ****soon.**

**Love Ellen**

**X x x x**


	13. Chapter 12: Waiting

**AN; Heyy ; so , I have a rare night of no homework – seeing as I have a TEN MILE WALK TOMORROW. I may just about die. But itss for these people in china , so I'll do my best (: anyway, I thought I'd get started on this chapter seeing as I took so long with the last one .. **

**I don't have a clue what's gonna happen in this , and only a vague idea of how this story will turn out . so , sorry if how it turns out is crappyy (:**

**Disclaimer; Do I really have to say it? TWILIGHT ISN'T MINE. :(**

Recap

_It seemed my solution had been pushed to the bottom of the pile too, much to my annoyance, seeing as it was – to me, anyway, as Edward had so kindly put it – the best one yet._

"_At least, it'll look that way, but she won't really be alone. Plus, we don't really want this playing out in Forks, at least, not if we want to stay here any longer."_

_I'd have to get on a plane, on my own, open to any attack._

_Eyes darkening by the inch, he murmured "Stay very still," before carefully lowering his lips onto mine._

Chapter 12; Waiting

_The already tiny rope that I'm balancing on wobbles, and I look up, trying to gauge how much further I have to go whilst stretching my arms to their full span in an attempt to not fall to an almost certain, and painful death. _

_I would sigh, as I look out at the long string, seemingly stretching on forever, and decreasing even further in width as it does, but I fear that if I make any sudden movements, apart from shifting forwards, then I would topple down into the darkness beneath._

_A sudden noise causes me to continue my wobbling, and I feel even more unsteady; but I can't help my head instantly snapping in the direction of the sound._

_The monster clicks his teeth together again, and smiles maliciously up at me, purring in anticipation for what will surely happen in mere minutes._

_I gulp, and redirect my gaze to the miniscule path in front of me, determined not to slip._

_Just as the thought passes through my mind, I feel air rush past me, and look around, confused. The rope has snapped; the cut so instant it appears to have been chopped by scissors. _

_The air continues to whip my helpless body, until I stop, caught in a pair of stony arms._

_The last I see is that same, similar and sinister grin, before blackness once again engulfs me._

My eyelids spring open, and I sit up in bed, looking around frantically, unaware that I had simply been dreaming. Stupid of me, yes, as I don't often feel obliged to walk along barely-there tight ropes. The hungry vampires however, have seemed to become a permanent reoccurrence in my life, whether I want them there or not.

"Bella?" Edward asked from his position on the bed beside me, concern evident in his voice. "What's wrong?"

Still a little shaken, my mind racing at a speed I would've thought impossible when only just awoken, I just looked at him, not quite able to form a word, let alone an explanation.

"Bad dream?" He prompted, in an attempt to make me smile, or at least get me out of my scary stupor. I would've thought he'd be used to it by now, being that it happened every time he smiled at me.

I managed a throaty chuckle and attempted a half-hearted smile, "Yeah, something like that," I answered, surprising myself by wishing for the first time ever, that I could be alone rather than in his company; I wanted desperately to comprehend my somewhat bizarre dream.

"Oh," Edward appeared at a loss of what to say, as his amber eyes scanned my face for any further damage. He seemed to make a decision and said slowly, "It's only 2:00am; you should try and get a little more rest."

I nodded, grateful that he apparently understood my need to think a little, without any interruptions.

He began to hum a tune under his breath. It sounded vaguely like a lullaby, and I soon found myself unable to keep my eyelids open. I guess my 'thinking time' would have to be put on hold until tomorrow.

The rest of the night passed dreamlessly, and somewhat peacefully. I've found that my sleeping habits have improved in the last couple of nights; it may have to do with a certain stone mattress that I seem to have acquired.

Said stone mattress left almost immediately after I'd woken up - for the second time that morning – but not before giving me a quick kiss on the forehead and promising to be back in an hours' time to give me a lift to school.

I sighed as I stared at the empty space where his figure was just moments ago. As much of a bad day that yesterday was, there were certainly highlights too. It's not every day a girl gets kissed by a God.

And okay, so it only lasted about a second. It was still enjoyable. Once I'd gotten over the shock anyway.

He tried to hide it, but I think Edward looked a little pleased too.

I decided it was safer to replay that moment in my head for the duration of the morning, rather than mull over thoughts of the upcoming, uh, 'event', or the nightmare of the previous night.

Thanks to this, it seemed like no time at all before I looked out the window to see Edward, the picture of nonchalance, leaning against the Volvo and staring into the distance, his expression completely neutral.

I hurried out the house to greet him.

***

School seemed to pass quickly, with most lessons seeming only a few minutes long. Everything moved around me as I seemed forever stuck in a daze of muddled thoughts and fears of what was to come, and what had already been.

I'd decided that the dream had just been the result of my mind being filled with various scenarios of what I thought would happen.

Perhaps that was what my mindset was about the plan; I was stuck, not able to see how things would turn out, and forced to concentrate and think carefully about every step I took. Each step could've been taking me closer and closer to the exit, or my doom, I wouldn't know. And, if I made one little mistake, slipped the tiniest bit, then I would fall.

This not making me feel at all better, it was with a fluttering stomach that I faced the week of school.

I seemed to only wake up and be even slightly aware of my surroundings at around Friday, much to Edward's relief.

I could tell from his facial expressions that he'd been worried about me, but chose not to press the issue, not wanting to make me feel worse.

The guilt of making him feel this way simply added to the pile of dread that filled me, and I was unable to even spare a smile as he inquired about my health – mental as well as physical – for what had to be the hundredth time that week. Well, it was nice to know he cared.

Then again, even the teachers had begun to look a little concerned as I turned up for the fifth day in a row with an expression that would make the grim reaper envious.

"Just a little worried," I answered quietly, seeming to shock him with the length of my answer, most likely because my reply to his repeated questions similarly hadn't been too varied, other than an 'I'm fine' rather than 'I'm okay'.

"Remember what I said on Sunday? You don't have to do anything you don't feel comfortable with," Edward said, looking worriedly into my eyes, which was quite worrying in itself for more than one reason; the prominent one being that he was currently trying to manoeuvre our way out of Forks parking lot, at precisely the same time as just about every other student that went there.

I sighed, because what he said, unfortunately, just wasn't true. I had to do this; I couldn't cower in Forks forever, putting everyone else living there at risk. I wouldn't do that any longer, and if facing killers was the only way to achieve this then so be it.

Even though as I thought this, I internally shook and gulped loudly. This didn't escape Edward's attention of course, and he said, "I'll break the news to my family; you have nothing to be ashamed of. Seven intelligent – well, Emmett is when he wants to be – vampires; we'll think of something else."

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head back and forth at a speed that probably wasn't healthy for my neck. "No," I repeated, swallowing and preparing for the longest speech I'd made yet that week, "I'm fine, really. And I'm sorry for the way I've acted all week," he looked about to interrupt, probably to lie and say that it hadn't at all bothered him, but I held up a hand to stop him, "It wasn't okay for me to do that, no matter how much I had to think about or prepare for. I promise I'll follow the normal human social patterns – or, as much as I used to follow them, anyway – from now on."

He smiled a small, tight lipped smile, and paused a little before finally saying, "If you want to talk about it, then don't hesitate. You're not in this alone; far from it."

I nodded, not voicing my thought: that I wouldn't be talking about anything to do with that anytime soon, most probably not to anyone, let alone Edward. I wouldn't want to be a burden.

After all, it was pretty selfish of me to be so upset, anyway. They were the ones with the hard job; fighting against a ton of vampires, who bettered them in both speed and strength. Of course, that was part of my worry, too.

Ever since that picture of Esme had first entered my mind, it had haunted me repeatedly. Sometimes featuring Alice, too, who seemed equally defenceless and fragile. Even though I knew this to be far from the truth, it didn't do anything to lessen my worry and fear.

Sighing, I unbuckled my seatbelt, and stepped out of the door that Edward had just appeared beside and opened.

Looking up at the beautiful house before me, I thought back to the first day I came here; just an innocent girlfriend meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time. Well, okay, Edward and I weren't exactly 'going out' at the time, and it was far from innocent, seeing as how said boyfriend and boyfriend's parents were vampires that could have killed me any second – but wouldn't have, because they're vegetarians.

But you understand my point. That memory seemed a million miles away from where I was now.

We were here because the Denali's had accepted Carlisle's offer to come and meet them. They were yet to find out about the fight, and Carlisle had insisted that I be there to explain the situation too. He was apparently sure that 'the evident love between Edward and I' would help our case.

Sure enough, as soon as Edward pushed open the door, I was met with five new, yet familiar pale faces, and intrigued amber eyes. They moved from me to Edward, noting how close he stood and the protective stance he seemed to automatically assume around me.

Carlisle, situated a little closer to us, quickly began to make introductions once the short analysis of us was finished, "Bella, we'd like you to meet some good friends of ours. This is Tanya," he motioned to the strawberry blonde standing at the end, who smiled kindly at me and Edward in turn, before he proceeded down the line, "Kate, Irina, Carmen and Eleazar," they all smiled, but made no move to approach me. Apart from Tanya, who skipped to Edward gracefully, and captured him in a hug.

"It's a pleasure to see you again too, Tanya," he said, sounding a little embarrassed, but returning the hug.

Carlisle continued, this time speaking to the vampires, "Friends, this is Bella. She and Edward have formed a bond not unlike the one we all share with our mates. We all think of her as part of the family now."

Momentarily forgetting my troubles, I smiled with triumph inside and out at hearing Carlisle speak of me as a family member.

The Denali's faces went from shock, to curiosity, and finally to acceptance, as their eyes scanned over me again.

They each welcomed, and hugged me in turn, and there was little more small talk before Eleazar finally asked, "So, Carlisle, I get the feeling this invitation wasn't purely based on social reasons?"

Carlisle cleared his throat, and replied, "Yes, but before we tell you of the whole story, I think Bella should share something of her past with you."

I glanced at Carlisle; he hadn't mentioned this. He nodded encouragingly, and, not wanting to let anyone down, I launched into the story of that fateful night in Phoenix, that changed my life forever.

***

The Denali's had been surprised, to say the least, at our story and request, but after a little prodding they agreed to help.

The rest of the afternoon had passed extremely slowly, much unlike the week before it.

Edward, accompanied by Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, Jasper and the Denali's had all gone hunting, apparently getting their strength up for the next day. I was left at the Cullen household with Alice and Esme until around five, when Edward returned to take me home.

Much to my dismay, he had to leave again soon after I'd gotten into bed that night, to be 'trained' by Jasper in preparation for the day ahead.

After assuring me that he'd be back when I was asleep, Edward disappeared out the window – of course. It seems vampires aren't capable of using doors, even though I bet he could've easily crept out the front one without Charlie noticing. So could I, if baseball was on – leaving me to my worries.

I awoke briefly on feeling a cold pair of arms snake around my waist – only scaring me for a second – but other than that, the night was uneventful, much unlike the day to come.

I was to tell Charlie that Alice Cullen, a new friend of mine, had invited me to her house where I'd spend the majority of the weekend. Of course, with fishing and baseball and everything else that goes on in the life of Chief Swan, he would barely have noticed I was gone anyway; but we figured this was a good alibi, just in case.

Charlie had agreed, with a few minor grunts about the Cullens that I was too preoccupied to listen to.

I'd done so much planning and thinking and trying to guess what was to come in fact, that my head felt strangely empty that morning, having nothing else to puzzle over. I'd already picked out flowers for my funeral.

So, it was with a blank mind, and a knotted stomach that I packed a 'sleepover' bag, that was actually my fake on flight bag to add to the illusion of my random decision to leave town.

Edward helped, not surprisingly, but maintained the silence for the whole time, not even urging me to hurry, or asking if I was feeling okay.

It was strange, but comforting, how he seemed to know my feelings so easily and in such a short space of time.

At about 9:00am we left the house, locking the front door behind us. The click of the lock seemed to go right through my head, echoing off the vacant walls of my brain.

The silence continued in the car, as we both stared out the window mindlessly. We were in my truck, as I was to drive to the Cullen's; go through some last preparations; drive myself to the airport; share a heartfelt goodbye with Edward – only partly for the plan, because let's face it, I'm not _that_ good an actress, and I couldn't have gone without one anyway – and board the plane. Alone.

The word alone was the only thing that went through my mind as I pulled up at the Cullen house for what could have been the last time.

I forced myself to stop thinking then, and swallowed the newly-formed lump in my throat.

_Be brave._ I told myself instead, trying to focus on what was happening at the present moment, rather than the future.

Edward grabbed my hand and squeezed, again guessing correctly that that was what I needed right then. Support.

Together we walked up the steps to the front porch, hand in hand, both dismissing the thought of losing each other.

Because that won't happen.

I hope.

**Gahh , cliffhanger! Well, okay not really, but w/e. Sort of. **

**Hope this was okay, don't know what you'll think.**

**At least it came up sooner (:**

**I quite enjoyed writing this one, so I'll hopefully get another up soon; no promises though, youu know how I am :[**

**Lovee Ellenn**

**X x x x**

**PS. I HEEAART reviews, like bella hearts martyrdom ;) **


	14. Chapter 13: Struggle

**AN; Sorryy, but its not even my fault why I took so long this time; my computer got a big fat virus, and wouldn't let me on ANYTHING. Thankfully, I managed to fix it after clickingg things crazily until they worked :L I had to make a new account & shiz. **

**Anyway, you probably don't care, so I'll start writing/typing now (: Oh and sorry if my flight knowledge is somewhat rusty, I haven't been in an airport or on a plane for aages :L **

**Disclaimer; Unlike me, Stephenie Meyer gets payed to write crap [ I mean that in an affectionate way of course ] about vampires, because it's hers.. Me on the other hand, I do it for free ;)**

Recap

_Everything moved around me as I seemed forever stuck in a daze of muddled thoughts and fears of what was to come, and what had already been._

_The Denali's had been surprised, to say the least, at our story and request, but after a little prodding they agreed to help. _

_Be brave. I told myself instead, trying to focus on what was happening at the present moment, rather than the future._

_Together we walked up the steps to the front porch, hand in hand, both dismissing the thought of losing each other._

Chapter 13; Struggle

I was barely aware of the newly familiar voice announcing another plane to take off as I sat numbly, watching and waiting.

My plane wasn't due to take off for another forty-five minutes, but I expected to be boarded in about fifteen.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickle as I feel someone's eyes rest on me; I don't have to turn around to know who it is. The knowledge that our plan seems to have worked so far does nothing to help my non-existent confidence at this point, and instead I squeeze my eyes shut, helplessly wishing that this was all over and I could go home.

Saying goodbye to Edward had been horrible, almost worse than the whole experience itself. But I got through it by telling myself that it was better this way; better than seeing him in pain.

It hadn't been hard to pretend as if I was never going to see him again, as that was how I was thinking anyway.

I had said separate goodbyes to each of the Cullens and Denalis before, leaving Edward purposefully last.

Not wanting to appear weak, I had managed to keep the tears at bay for the journey there, but I couldn't help a few escaping as I turned to look at Edward for what could be the last time.

He looked like a God; just as perfect as when I'd first set eyes on him all those weeks ago in Biology, although it seemed like we'd known each other for an eternity already.

"Don't cry," he soothed me gently, wiping away the salty tears that had slipped down my cheeks, "Everything will work out fine." I nodded but was unable to conjure even the smallest of smiles as yet more tears spilled down my face.

Edward bent his head, touching his lips to mine for a second, which only made me cry more.

He squeezed my hand, and looked about to turn away, then suddenly stopped and pulled me to him once more. This kiss was different; instead of being soft, Edward crushed his lips to mine, seemingly worried, like me, that he would never have the chance to do so again.

"The flight to New York will begin boarding now. Would passengers in rows 24 to 20 please make their way to the stand." A voice said, snapping me back to reality. I glanced down at my ticket: Row 10. I still had a little longer to wait.

Alice had said New York was a good idea; it was close enough to be able to get there at the same time as the plane if they got a head start. When I'd queried about places where there was no foliage to run in, she'd replied simply, speaking slowly as if I were an idiot, "We drive."

Within minutes and a few cheery "Have a nice flight"s, I was sitting alone in my seat, fingers drumming on the arm rest at my side, my eyes glued to the screen in front.

I faintly registered someone sitting beside me but didn't bother to look around and scrutinise the person. They seemed as equally unruffled as me at sitting next to a complete stranger, and didn't attempt to start a conversation or even acknowledge my presence either.

Perhaps that should've been my first clue. People are usually friendly enough, and someone would've surely checked to see if I was okay, seeing as how I probably looked about ready to jump from the plane.

I lurched, startled when a loud trilling sound suddenly came from the front pocket on my jeans. Grabbing at it quickly, I blushed crimson as half the cabin turned to look curiously at me, searching for the source of the sudden noise.

Edward had given me the mobile just before we left, saying it was for communication purposes, but assuring me that they probably wouldn't need to get in touch if all went well.

Flipping it open I whispered, "Hello?" wondering why they'd be calling me so early on in the plan; what could have gone wrong already?

I was met with a shrill beep and the line cut off just as immediately as it had started ringing.

Frowning slightly I closed it again, assuming that they had simply dialled by accident or that there was no signal. Another clue ignored.

But I was left no more time to ponder this, as a flight attendant appeared at my side with an annoyed expression on her face, "The plane will be taking off in a few minutes time and we would appreciate it if you kept all cellular phones switched off, at least until we're in the air. Alright?" she plastered a very fake smile on her face and walked briskly away again, leaving me in my embarrassment

I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the headrest. We hadn't even taken off yet and already I'd brought unwanted attention onto myself, and made an enemy; it was going to be a long flight.

It was just after the frantic snapping of seatbelts opening had echoed through my mind and my stomach had finally stopped doing back flips that I opened my eyes at the sound of dialling. We had barely been in the air ten minutes and after the scolding I'd gotten moments ago, I would have been hesitant to use a phone at any time during the flight, let alone seconds after the seatbelt signs had finally flashed off. So, it was with shocked curiosity I look around at the person sitting beside me.

My heart stopped dead and I seemed unable to take in another breath.

"Excellent." The man said into the phone before putting it down again, a conversation so brief it would have puzzled anyone else, but I had a feeling I knew whom he'd just been speaking to. A shiver ran through my suddenly rigid body and I gasped for air, feeling as though I'd been punched in the stomach.

I know it was probably stupid of me; it had been assumed – included in our plan even - that he would be on the plane with me, but yet here I was, not able to even respire correctly when actually facing him in person.

_You knew he'd be here_, I chided myself silently, trying to turn back the way I'd faced previously, but unable to tear my eyes away from him, fearing that if I did, he'd surely kill me right there on the plane. I suppose I'd always thought that he'd be on a completely different place or something, but not sitting right beside me, as casually as if he'd never encountered me before in his life.

He turned slowly to look at me and I cowered back slightly at the sight of his crimson eyes; eyes that I'd seen so many times in my nightmares, and yet they still made me shake in fear.

"Why, Bella, fancy seeing you here!" He purred seductively, a malicious smile on his lips, an evil glint in his eye, "I am so glad I ran into you though. I've been unable to stop thinking of you ever since we met in Phoenix," he paused, inhaling and licking his lips.

I whimpered and moved my hand to my seat belt snapping it open. I made to jump in the aisle and run to the toilets, but a stony hand gripped my wrist, trapping me in the seat.

"Now Bella, don't be like that," Michael chided gently, all the time the smirk still on his face, "We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt now would we?"

My mind reeled at the double meaning in his words and I gasped. "What have you done to them?" Anger suddenly filled my head, blocking out any other emotions as I tried to wrestle my wrist from his grasp, writhing around the seat and speaking loudly, "You better not hurt them! If you touch them, if you hurt any of them I swear I'll-"

"Calm down, honey," he let go of my wrist only to put a hand on my hair soothingly.

I stopped struggling and looked at him confusedly. Glancing around I saw the reason for his sudden change in mood – all people surrounding us were looking in our direction, their faces puzzled and some worried. The same flight attendant that had spoken to me earlier was making her way angrily towards us down the aisle.

"Is there a problem here?" she asked, looking fiercely down at me, causing me to blush once more. Just as I opened my mouth to reply, hoping I would be allowed to move seats, I heard his voice again.

"I'm sorry to disturb you miss," he shot a dazzling smile up at her, causing the steward to immediately relax her tense posture and smile back dazedly, "Bella's just a little nervous you see; it's her first time flying,"

"Oh, don't worry about it. You enjoy your flight now." She sighed and smiled again at him, before winking and strolling back down the aisle happily. Bile rose in my throat and I turned to look disgustedly at the monster beside me.

He was grinning evilly once again, and I shuddered involuntarily.

Swallowing, I asked as calmly as I could manage, "What have you done?"

"Whatever do you mean Bella?" he asked, trying to appear angelic and innocent, but seeing my face, smiled and continued, "If you're referring to your new acquaintances, there's no need to worry… Maria felt it necessary to stop by with a few friends of our own," he shrugged nonchalantly.

I stifled another shudder as I thought of Maria and their 'friends'.

Instead, I said, not quite as evenly as before, "Let them go."

Michael simply chuckled, the sound causing goose bumps to rise on my skin. "Aah Bella, you never cease to amuse me; I forgot how humorous you were." The smile grew even more pronounced, "But as I said, don't be anxious. If you agree to what we say, then there will be no reason to harm them. Understand?"

I looked away, tears filling my eyes and threatening to spill over.

What was I supposed to do? The thought of my new family hurt was almost too much for me to bear. I knew the original plan was for them to fight, but could I take that risk when I had the power to let them be free and unharmed without even having to bother with the battle?

I thought of Edward, of the time we had spent together, of the time that we could have had together in the future; I was sure we would have had one, had it not been for my atrocious luck and scarred past.

I couldn't bring myself to cause him anymore pain than I already had done, couldn't bring myself to think of what it would do to him to lose any member of his family just because of me.

Surely his family were more important than someone who he had only met a couple of months ago, and who had done nothing but cause trouble in his somewhat peaceful life.

I had made my decision, but this time I remembered Alice's talents. Attempting to fool her so as not to arouse suspicion, I quickly thought of the Cullens fighting.

In my mind I pictured not doing whatever it was that Michael wanted me to do in order to have me to himself. I imagined my family fighting Maria. I envisioned them winning, and rushing to help me escape from Michael.

I pictured the moment that I would see Edward again, when all would be done and finished, and we would be free to be happy and not be bothered by sadistic vampires hungry for our death.

I saw all this in my head, and my body wanted nothing more than to believe it would happen; to believe that was what I wanted to happen.

But I truly knew that I couldn't put them in any unnecessary danger just to help me.

So, I gulped, and replayed the images in my head, hoping they would bring a little comfort as I said the sentence that could end my life forever.

But could also save people I cared about most in the world.

Looking over at Michael once more, I stared straight into his blood red eyes, and ignored the tears that had at some point spilled from my eyes and were now wetting my cheeks. They tasted salty as they slipped into my mouth, which had opened in order for me to speak the words.

I shut my eyes and thought even harder about the decision I wouldn't make, not wanting to slip and ruin the façade.

"I'll do what you want, as long as no one gets hurt," I whispered, adding at the end, "Except me,"

He laughed manically, and I brought my knees up to my chest, placing my head on them. My eyes still shut, I heard a quiet "Excellent," and more chuckles before I blocked out all other surroundings and stopped using my senses.

The only thing I felt, was my heart, thrumming loudly and slowly in my chest.

Strange, that it still appeared to continue to function, when I was sure it had broken.

**Aaahh! There we go (: Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger :DD but yeah..**

**Hope that was okay.**

**Now, I'm not usually a review whore, [ well , not much of one ] but I only got two reviews last chapter ******** thank youu firekumori mage, because you never let me down (: and thank you to my anonymous reviewer.**

**But please, if you read this it only takes a second to even just say something like 'good job' , and I would appreciate it if youu did :DD**

**Love Ellenn**

**X x x x x**


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